Being Backstage
by Kealilah
Summary: Kagome and InuYasha hate each others guts. She’s a normal school girl and he’s a trillion dollar super star. The problem: Their families are best of friends. Complete
1. Persistence of the Contrary

Kagome and Inu-Yasha hate each others guts. She's a normal school girl and he's a trillion dollar super star. The problem: Their families are best of friends.  
  
A note: New story, please don't kill me!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha or any other anime! The only thing that's officially mine is my stories...  
  
Well... here it goes!  
  
..................  
  
**Chapter One  
  
Persistence of the Contrary**  
  
..................  
  
Kagome smiled brightly before writing a sentence down on the sheet of neatly laid out paper in front of her. She had surprisingly received a letter from her best friend who lived_ far_... far away and now she was cheerily replying to it, though she had barely thought of anything to write.  
  
Her life wasn't as exciting as her friend's was... her friend had fame and fortune – she even was a superstar, heck... Kagome was even surprised that she knew the famous model and movie star – Karira Taisho.  
  
How had it happened? Well... she would have to ask her great, great, great grandfather that. All she knew was that the Higurashi's had always been great friends with the Taisho's and the friendship would always last, despite the weird status of them both. Everyone knew the Taisho's, worldwide, while only a few close friends and families knew that the Higurashi's existed.  
  
Kagome sighed. It really was bizarre. How had a trillion dollar family become friends with a normal family who took care of a shrine?  
  
Kagome shoved the question and letter aside and picked up the letter Karira had sent her.  
__

_'Hi Kags!  
_

_ It has been so long since I've made contact with you! I've been loaded with so many interviews, autograph signings, and movie contracts that I barely have the time to even meet my family!  
_

_Well, forget that – now I'm back in my villa and I'm going to be  
spending my summer here, I wish you could come over, but I doubt you'd be allowed. Security has tightened immensely due to my big brother Sesshomaru's popularity boost! Fan girls were screaming for him at the gates... I wonder how they even got into Demonwood, let alone the gates of our Villa.  
  
Well, before you ask how we're doing in your reply, I'll tell you  
right now. I'm doing great – I don't stress out as much as I used to  
last time, the therapist helped me with my problems... and my big  
brothers are, well... doing the same I guess. Though Inu-Yasha does  
worry me sometimes...  
_  
Kagome felt her blood boil with hatred as she read her friend's older brother's name. Inu-Yasha... oh, how she despised him. Despite the fact that her rival's name had just been read now, she continued reading.  
  
_... He hasn't quit smoking and I'm worried that the amount of alcohol he drinks might do him harm, he even goes to night clubs now – oh, my mother worries day and night about him, I just wish someone would snap some sense into him!  
  
Well, Kagome, I have to get going – photo shoot in only two hours, I wonder how I'm going to get ready in such short notice!  
  
I'll be waiting for your reply.  
  
Until then, Good Bye!  
  
Your ever loving friend: Karira.  
_  
Kagome smiled at the letter, disregarding the part where she mentioned Inu- Yasha. Looking at the back of the letter, her smile broadened when she saw a picture of the whole family.  
  
Karira was the youngest of the family and was standing in the middle of the family; arms wide open with a large smile plastered onto her face, her white hair with black high lights were tied up in pig tails and beside her, her two older brothers were standing haughtily, arms around her shoulder. Sesshomaru on the left seemed to be distracted by something on his shoe and Inu-Yasha on the right who was smirking immensely and looked like he was about to give his younger sister a wet Willie. Mrs. Taisho was standing beside Inu-Yasha and had her arms around him, embracing him in a one sided hug and Mr. Taisho on the other side looked like he was about to yell in frustration at the sheer chaos of the picture.  
  
Kagome laughed. The picture seemed pretty recent, she could tell by the way Karira didn't have her arm cast on, meaning that two months had already passed and her arm had been healed when it had broken in an incident not too long ago, and also by the fact Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru were wearing the shirts Kagome's mother had sent him last week.  
  
She narrowed her eyes and growled in her stomach, even the reminder that Inu-Yasha even existed made her blood boil in anger and frustration.  
  
He had made her life a living hell since the first day she had met him. She remembered the horrid day when it had all started.  
  
She was four and she was squealing in happiness that she was actually going to Demonwood. The place where every demonic celebrity lived, the place where all the best shops were place and the place which was supposedly heaven for anyone into shopping, fashion and anything else, her family were visiting the Taisho's and it was going to be her first visit.  
  
Oh... how she wished she never went there.  
  
When she stepped into the exquisite villa of the Taisho's, Karira and her immediately clicked, becoming best friends that instant, Sesshomaru had welcomed her warmly into their home and so had Mr. and Mrs. Taisho... but then, she met him. The stupid arrogant Inu-Yasha, the first thing he had said to her was:  
  
_'you're such a me wanna be... get your own riches and don't barge into mine!'_  
  
And from that day on, both had been enemies. Every time either ones family visited each others' home, they almost bit each others necks off.  
  
Looking at the picture, she quickly grabbed a scissor from the dressing table beside her bed and dove the edge of the scissor into Inu-Yasha's face in the picture.  
  
She smirked evilly as she twisted the scissor, eliminating Inu-Yasha's face from the picture completely. "Ha! Don't you ever smirk at me... you pathetic bastard you –."  
  
"Kagome honey, your friends are here, I'm sending them up to your room!" Kagome's mother's voice carried up to her bedroom.  
  
Kagome froze immediately. "Uh... Okay ma!"  
  
Looking around with panic, she grabbed the letter and the envelope and threw every evident that led her friends to knowing she was in contact with the oh so famous Taisho's underneath her bed.  
  
She had understood when she was able to talk and walk that the friendship between the families was meant to be kept a secret. If the press ever found out that the famous celebrities were in touch with such normal daily families, havoc would erupt and Kagome shuddered to think what would happen after that.  
  
She was about to open the door to let her friends in when she remembered the picture in her hand.  
  
She quickly placed the picture in her math textbook and turned on the television to act as if she was doing nothing in the past few minutes.  
  
Her door opened and in stepped her friends Sango and Ayame whom looked ready to burst with happiness.  
  
"**_KAGOME, YOU CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED_**!" Sango squealed out and grabbed Kagome's remote from her hand and jumped onto the bed.  
  
Kagome sighed and shook her head. "Nope, I can't – so tell me, what happened?"  
  
Ayame squealed and jumped onto the bed and sat beside Sango who was flicking through the channels of the TV. "Inu-Yasha Taisho is going to be starring in a movie!"  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh..._ jeez_, you guys should stop being so obsessed with him, for all we know, in real life he could be a sleez ball!"  
  
Sango glared at Kagome for even thinking such a thing. "_No way_! No one as _handsome_... and _dreamy_... so _adorable_ and _hot_ like _**him**_ can be rude!"  
  
Kagome shifted uneasily at her spot. Curse her parents for telling her to keep the fact that she knew the Taisho's a secret...  
  
Kagome sat on the bed and rolled her eyes at her friends' hyper activity. "So what are you skimming in the TV channels for?"  
  
Sango squealed again. "He's going to be airing in an interview _**LIVE **_in exactly two minutes!"  
  
Kagome growled, her chest burning with anger. This is how it happened every day, her friends would come over and all they would talk about would be Inu- Yasha, Inu-Yasha and only Inu-Yasha.  
  
"Well, I don't think he's hot!" Kagome squirmed out between clenched teeth.  
  
Ayame stared at her, opened mouthed and open eyed. "Kagome – are you blind?"  
  
Sango nodded and finally settled on a channel, watching intensely for any sign of their every body's famous celebrity.  
  
"No, I'm _not_ blind, I just think that you shouldn't judge someone before you've met him, and I'm not going to fall in love with someone only because of their looks, for all anyone knows, Inu-Yasha might be an... insane, selfish, stubborn, arrogant, rude, egotistic, egg headed -."  
  
"Kagome, we get the point that you don't like him, though we don't know why – you don't seem to have a problem with any other celebrity, you act as if you've actually met Inu-Yasha!"  
  
Kagome grunted and lay down on her stomach on the bed, glaring at her bedroom television as if scolding it for actually airing Inu-Yasha. She slit her eyes as Inu-Yasha's face appeared on the screen and bit her tongue as she forced her self to watch the interview.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, thank you for coming today, first of all – your fans would like to give a cheer out to you" the commentary said out loud and immediately, deafening screams filled the room.  
  
Kagome shuddered. How could people like that... that... _that_ bastard?  
  
Inu-Yasha nodded and gave a smirk to the audience; emitting more screams and screeches out from them.  
  
_"Well, lets get on with the interview – first of all, lots and lots of people have been wondering how you feel about drugs?"_  
  
_ Inu-Yasha didn't hesitate before answering. "Oh, I'm totally against them, I mean – I've never smoked, and I stay sober, drugs are a waste of money and time and why should we ruin our daily basis by getting drunk and create a chance of doing something we would never really want to do? Smoking causes cancer and more and more people are dying of it every day, so if you all are listening out there... stay sober,don't smoke – and stay healthy!"  
_  
More cheers were heard from the crowd and even Sango and Ayame were squealing on the bed.  
  
"See, Kagome? How could you hate a guy with so much determination?" Sango asked her.  
  
Kagome muttered something under her breath. She knew the truth and she knew Inu-Yasha was simply lying to the world. He smoked right in front of her and he even drank alcohol in front of her... heck, he went to night clubs for god's sake and he was telling others not to?  
  
_"Inu-Yasha, that's great you think so positively, however – rumors  
went around that you were spotted in a night club last week in Demonwood, is it true?"  
_  
Kagome froze with an evil smirk plastered onto her face. Oh, he was caught!  
  
_"No, I was in my house this whole month, it must have been someone who simply looked like me" he replied though his face showed slight hesitation which Kagome spotted instantly._  
  
_"I see, so any way..."_  
  
The interview trailed on, Kagome glaring at Inu-Yasha's face and if looks could kill and travel through a TV, Inu-Yasha would have already died by the fierce glares Kagome was sending him.  
  
Kagome felt her heart throb with hatred when she heard one simple question and the answer it gave.  
  
_"So Inu-Yasha, what's your dating status right now?"_  
  
Loud screeches, squeals and screams were sent throughout the room he was being interviewed in and Kagome wished she could turn the TV off this instant... though she knew her friends would kill her if she did.  
  
_ "I'm single and I'm ready to mingle..." he said, smirking as he winked at the girls in the crowd._  
  
Sango jumped up and screamed along with Ayame at his answer and Kagome growled with anger... how dare he lie like that!  
  
"He is _not_ single; I know he has at least ten different girlfriends in every country!" Kagome yelled out over her friends screams.  
  
They both froze and looked at Kagome with a hard expression.  
  
"_Kagome_, give him a chance!"  
  
"You've never met him so don't judge him, that's what you told us!"  
  
Kagome sighed in frustration... if only she could tell that she knew... "Oh, you watch the interview without me; I'll get some snacks from the kitchen"  
  
"You're going to miss something big..."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, yes... I'm sure – I don't mind missing _the oh so famous high and almighty Inu-Yasha's_ interview..." Kagome drawled out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
She stepped out of the room, trying to control the need of breaking the television so she wouldn't ever have to see Inu-Yasha on TV again. She stepped down the stairs, her mood dampened by the reoccurrence of Inu-Yasha and walked into the kitchen.  
  
She smiled at her mother who was cooking something on the stove which smelled quite delicious and murmured a 'hi mom' to her quietly.  
  
Her mother turned around and eyed her wearily. "What's with the bad mood dear?"  
  
"...Inu-Yasha was on TV again" she replied as she opened the cupboards in search of some chips.  
  
"Oh, really? Well... I hope he's doing okay, we haven't seen their family in almost a year..." her mother said as she opened the fridge and took out some chicken.  
  
"Oh the joy" Kagome sighed out and sat on the counter, finding nothing better to do than watch her mother cook.  
  
Her mother glanced at Kagome, "Oh, don't tell me you and Inu-Yasha are still in that silly fight?"  
  
"We've been fighting since we met - what makes you think anything will change all of a sudden?" Kagome asked and pouted immediately after, remembering all the horrid times she spent with Inu-Yasha.  
  
"Well... you never can tell when the winds decide to change their course" Her mother sighed out and placed the chicken into the pot.  
  
"Oh... please don't say all those things to me, I'm happy I know the true and rude Inu-Yasha, otherwise I would probably be like those crazy fan girls of his" she stated simply and played with a spoon lying on the counter.  
  
"He isn't all that bad, remember he gave all those valentine cards to everyone on Valentines Day?" her mother negotiated, trying to change her daughter's thoughts about Inu-Yasha.  
  
"Yeah, he gave everyone a card except_ me_!" she snapped out and sighed, letting out steam.  
  
"Well...you're his same age so maybe he was a little shy?"  
  
"Mom... he dates different women all the time, why would he be shy of a girl he has known since he was _born_?" Kagome replied, finding no sense in why everyone backed Inu-Yasha up.  
  
"Oh – well I'm not going to try and make you like someone you don't like but I think you should stop hating him with such immense hatred" her mother said and put a stirred the ingredients of the pot.  
  
Kagome felt her blood boil again. "Hate him? I hate pineapple on pizza; I hate people talking behind my back... I don't hate Inu-Yasha; he's in a different league all together, something more like despise!"  
  
"Okay, okay – any way, let's take the subject off of Inu-Yasha," Her mother turned around and walked towards Kagome, smiling at her warmly. "I had to ask you something..."  
  
Kagome hesitated. It wasn't every day her mother left her cooking and talked to her with such a ..._cheesy_ smile.  
  
Her mother jumped onto the counter and sat beside Kagome, surprising her to death. "Um... mom, what is it that you have to tell me?"  
  
"I well-." Her mother was cut off as Kagome's friends' squeals were heard down the stairs. Kagome rolled her eyes.  
  
"Ignore them, Inu-Yasha must have said something catchy... oh, I hate that womanizer..." Kagome reassured, narrowing her gaze at the floor.  
  
"Um, well – as I was saying before, I read the letter that Karira sent you sweetie and as your father and I have told you before, remember that trip we have to take to Tokyo?"  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly... what had this got to do with the letter?  
  
"Well, you know how Karira mentioned that she would love to have you over at their Villa..." Kagome's mom hesitated as she saw the horror dawn on Kagome's face. "I was wondering if we could drop you and Souta and their Villa while we go on the trip, it won't be for long, I swear –_ and mothers don't swear_!"  
  
Kagome gaped at her, not knowing if she should feel happy or sad. She was going to meet her best friend and the family she loved so much, but then she was going to meet... him. The arrogant, and ego headed Inu-Yasha.  
  
She was speechless, and the only thing she was able to do was gape at her mother. After a minute of staring at each other, she let out a word. "..._**wah**_...?"  
  
Her mother broke into a nervous smile. "I wrote a letter to Mrs. Taisho, concerning the matter and she replied saying she would absolutely love having you two over at their Villa, like always! Karira's going to call you in five minutes or so, so I thought I should tell you before she starts exclaiming how much fun you two are going to have"  
  
Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and then looked at her mother hopelessly. "You mean you set where I was going to stay while you and dad went on a trip without asking me?"  
  
"But I thought you would like to meet your friends again" her mother replied gently.  
  
"I would love to meet Karira again, I mean – she's my best friend and everything, and I wouldn't mind seeing Sesshomaru or Mr. or Mrs. Taisho... but its –him- I don't want to meet, ma and you should've known that!" Kagome looked down at her lap with hesitance.  
  
Her mother was about to speak when Kagome's friends came barging down the stairs, looking desperately for Kagome. When they spotted Kagome and her mom sitting on the counter with miserable and nervous faces, they rushed up to them immediately.  
  
"What happened Kagome?" Sango asked in a cheery voice, obviously the affect of Inu-Yasha's interview had done something to them.  
  
"I... um... You know how my parents are going to Tokyo for a while, well... they're taking me with them" She said, telling them a direct white lie, knowing well fully that if she told them the exact location, it would be complete havoc.  
  
"Oh... that's not good" Ayame said out aloud and glanced between the two, somehow... Kagome looked more miserable than she should have looked if she had been told to go somewhere with her parents.  
  
"Well, we'll see you later – were off... good luck" Sango said cheerily and gave Kagome a pat on the back, and with that her friends turned around and walked out of the house, talking something about 'Inu-Yasha having an affair with a French girl and how it had to be impossible.'  
  
Kagome's mother laughed at the irony of it all. "Well, if you go to their house – you might actually find out if Inu-Yasha is having an affair with a French girl" her mother said cheerily.  
  
Kagome shrugged and then took a deep breath.  
  
If she was going to go spend her time off at the Taisho's Villa, nothing Inu-Yasha could say or do was going to ruin her trip.  
  
........................  
  
Kagome talked on the phone with her friend Karira as she packed her clothes into her suitcase.  
  
_"So you'll be here by tomorrow? Oh, I'm going to be waiting at the gates for you!"_  
  
Kagome smiled, her mood having been brightened up immensely at all the exciting things her friend was listing. "I'm so excited!"  
  
_"So am I!"_  
  
Kagome laughed along with her friend Karira as two young elementary girls would do when they were about to have a sleep over. So far, no one had mentioned Inu-Yasha, and as long as that remained, she would be okay.  
  
"So... I wonder how a whole night in a limo would be" Kagome said as she took out her tooth brush from her bathroom.  
  
_"Yeah, and I can't believe you're leaving tonight!"_  
  
"Neither can I, Souta almost died of happiness when I told him the news" she said merrily as she threw her swimsuit into the suitcase. "What was Inu- Yasha's reaction?"  
  
Karira sighed on the other line. _"I'm not sure, mom went to tell him but he never opened the door, so Sesshy knocked down the door and told him – well... all I remember hearing is some shouting... and some door banging"_  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, I hope he stays out of my way the whole vacation – is he going to go anywhere?"  
  
_"Unfortunately not, so I don't think you'll be able to avoid him that much, but last time didn't go so bad..."_ Karira trailed on but stopped in mid sentence.  
  
Kagome laughed. "Well, if you count out the time I got so mad at Inu-Yasha I practically pounced on him and tried to rip his hair out, it went great!"  
  
_"Oh... everyone was shocked; you guys were like – gorillas trying to  
break each others arms!"_  
  
Kagome laughed; not embarrassed one single bit from the memory of the horrible fight. "I won in the end"  
  
_"How ironic, that's the same thing what Inu-Yasha keeps saying to me"  
_  
"Kagome, Souta – your limo's are here!" Kagome's mother's voice carried up to her ears.  
  
Kagome froze. "Oh shoot, the limo is already here and I haven't even packed! I'll see you when I see you – bye!"  
  
_"Later!"_  
  
She closed the phone and raced around the room, trying to take anything that looked like that was going to be in need. She almost knocked down the small lamp Sango had given her for her birthday.  
  
She stopped to stare at the lamp and smiled. If she told her friends she had just talked on the phone with the famous Karira Taisho, they would have become rigid with shock.  
  
She was snapped out of her fantasy when she heard her mother yell out her name.  
  
"I'm coming ma!" she yelled down and opened her closet. She grabbed a few jeans, shorts, shirts and skirts and threw them in her suitcase. She was about to leave when she remembered she didn't pack any socks or shoes.  
  
She groaned and raced to her closet again. Seeing two pairs of sandals and a packet of socks, she grabbed them and threw them in her open suitcase.  
  
She heard her mother call her again and she quickly closed her suitcase and picked it up, almost dropping it at the weight of everything inside. "Oh god, what did I pack in here?"  
  
She ran down the steps, and almost tripped at the speed she was going at.  
  
She stopped at the doorstep and gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I'll miss you honey and don't get into any trouble!"  
  
Kagome nodded and waved a goodbye. She turned around and looked at the two limo's. One was for Souta and the other one was for Kagome, not knowing which one was hers, she looked back at her mom who pointed to the one in the front.  
  
She laughed and ran to the first limo, handing her suitcase to the driver which was waiting outside for her.  
  
She sighed as she looked back at her house which was hiding in the shadows of the dark night. Almost being unable to see her mom she yelled a goodbye and smiled with excitement as she sat in the limo.  
  
She squealed with excitement, the fact that she was in a limo giving her exciting shivers down her spine. Well... maybe her mom had been right, this trip might not be as bad as the other trips.  
  
The limo started and Kagome settled herself in comfort of the limo.  
  
.............................................  
  
Kagome groaned as she heard the annoying bell of her alarm clock ring. Reaching out for her night stand, she furrowed her eyebrows in her sleep when she noticed it wasn't there. Finally deciding to remain ignorant to that annoying ringing coming from somewhere in her room, she decided to remain asleep.  
  
She was drifting back to sleep when her moving room suddenly stopped and she was thrown off her bed to crash into the carpeted ground.  
  
She moaned and blinked, opening her eyes slowly. Her first intention was to scream, but when she remembered the short notice of where she was going yesterday and where she was right now, she cussed underneath her breath and sat back on her seat of the limo.  
  
Looking around, she noticed the 'alarm clock' was still ringing. She suddenly noticed that in fact, it wasn't the alarm clock but the phone. She rushed up to it and picked it up immediately.  
  
"Hello?" she murmured out in a tired and breathless voice.  
  
"Ma'am we've entered Demonwood and we will be reaching your destination in a matter of minutes"  
  
"Thanks" she said between yawns and placed the phone back into its stand.  
  
She straightened her skirt and looked outside the window. She blinked when she noticed it was now broad sunlight. "Oh crap... I must have fallen asleep during the ride"  
  
Taking out a wet tissue from her purse, she wiped her face of all tiredness and put on a bright happy smile, remembering her mom telling her to be polite and look delighted that she was going to stay at their Villa for a while.  
  
Looking in the small mirror in the limo she noticed her hair was a mess. "Ah!" she yelled out and looked around frantically for a brush. Spotting one right near the mirror, she picked it up and brushed her hair quickly.  
  
In a matter of minutes, she put back on her head band and shoes which she had kicked off in the middle of the night and straightened out her skirt once again.  
  
She smiled again and modeled for herself in front of the small mirror. She was wearing a red mini skirt with a simple white shirt, and had a white headband on and white shoes. She licked her lips to relieve herself of their dryness and then sighed as she clutched her purse.  
  
She was finally ready to meet the Taisho family again.  
  
She looked out the window pressed the button which directed the window screen to go down so she could see where she was outside.  
  
As the window went down she noticed that she had entered Demonwood and was now in the wide and luxurious streets of where most celebrities lived.  
  
She squealed with excitement as she saw the Taisho Villa in the distance.  
  
It took ten minutes before she finally reached the gates of the Villa and by the time they were opening the gates she was almost jumping in her seat, desperate to meet her friends.  
  
It seemed like ages before the limo finally stopped and Kagome was allowed to step out.  
  
As she stepped out, she took in a deep breath of the clean air and stretched her arms to relieve her muscles of the long ride. Almost at once, a loud squeal was heard from behind her.  
  
She turned around and noticed that her limo was gone and that an over hyper teenager was running towards her.  
  
It took one second for Karira to reach up to her and embrace her in a tight hug.  
  
"I missed you!" she said out as she hugged Kagome.  
  
"We talked yesterday!" Kagome squirmed out between breaths. "Karira – you're going to kill me in this hug!"  
  
Karira let go and smiled broadly, giving enough room for Kagome to breath freely.  
  
"Wow... this place has become bigger since the last time I saw it!" Kagome said slowly as she looked at the villa and her surroundings.  
  
She was standing on the well kept stone path starting from the gates heading straight to the doorstep of the Villa. The path was outlined with flowers and behind the flowers on each side was a garden. The grass was mowed perfectly and the trees were lined up on the sides, completely parallel to each other. The roots of the trees were blossoming with flowers and the air was filled with the sound of chattering birds.  
  
She looked at the Villa and noticed that the windows had become larger and it was defiantly taller now.  
  
Karira nudged Kagome, "Your brother won't be here for another half an hour, let's go get you cleaned up and ready"  
  
Kagome nodded and walked with Karira down the path to the Villa.  
  
As she reached the front doors of the Villa, she noticed that the doorknobs were made out of solid gold and there were roman designs made on the borders.  
  
Karira opened the door and she was about to step in when something stopped her.  
  
"What the hell is she doing here?" A voice drawled out from behind.  
  
Kagome froze as heard the voice that she hated oh... _so_, so much.  
  
.....................................  
  
There you go!  
  
Please review and tell me what you thought about it!!!  
  
Yes, the person who said whatever he said in the end was in fact Inu-Yasha...


	2. Meek Memories

**First of all, thank you to all you wonderful reviewers, I love you all!  
  
.  
  
And... I would like to specially thank purity – starz, my first reviewer**!  
  
**..................  
**  
**Chapter Two  
  
Meek Memories**  
  
**..................**  
  
_"What the hell is she doing here?"_ The voice echoed in her head... the evil, monstrous, and simply taunting voice lulled in her head, making her blood freeze in anger. She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyebrows, ready to turn around and tell the womanizing man exactly what she thought of him.  
  
Karira looked uneasily between the both, knowing what was in store for them.  
  
Having a thousand words of hate race throughout her mind, Kagome turned around and faced _him_. The snobby bastard... Inu-Yasha.  
  
Inu-Yasha narrowed his gaze as he noticed the deadly glare which was being sent to him, crossing his arms across his chest he frowned. "Oh shit – don't tell me that bitch is going to be staying here..." he said, venom dripping from his every word.  
  
Kagome felt her blood boil. "The name's Kagome dumb ass, and if you still can't pronounce it after fourteen years of knowing me – you need someone to give you a good kick in your ass!"  
  
He narrowed his eyebrows, somehow Kagome always having a way to get on his nerves. "At least I got an ass – you're the one walking around butt less!"  
  
Kagome scoffed at him and rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. "Where the hell did that come from? But less – is that even a word?"  
  
Inu-Yasha hesitated before answering; "It is now!" he said and growled when she laughed at his insecurity.  
  
"Stop trying to act smart – ugh, I've had it! I've been trying to avoid seeing your ugly whore –ish face since the last time I saw you, and I don't want to stand another moment talking to you any longer!" Kagome replied and growled inwardly.  
  
"Please don't mock me with your words of hate – they have absolutely no effect on me, slut" he replied and walked up the steps to come face to face with her.  
  
"Then I'll go in and I'll ignore you for the rest of the summer" She said and smiled icily, sending off warnings to Inu-Yasha to back off.  
  
Inu-Yasha seemed surprised for a millisecond before he spoke. "Oh, kill me – you're staying for that long..." He sighed and Kagome turned around to leave, not having the nerve to stay near him any longer.  
  
"Fuckin' bitch can't find her own home..." He said and sighed again in fake frustration.  
  
Kagome who had turned her back and was about to enter hadn't gone far enough to miss the last sentence he had drawled out, making her anger boil on a level which was alarming in any manner.  
  
She turned around and before either Karira or Inu-Yasha knew what was coming, Kagome raised her leg and furiously kicked, with all her strength - Inu-Yasha at the oh - so unfaithful place between the legs.  
  
...................................  
  
Mrs. Taisho looked nervously at the glaring pair, Inu-Yasha being the one who was clutching his...eh... things with a pained look floating in his eyes and Kagome being the one who was rubbing her sore arm.  
  
After Inu-Yasha had a good kick in the balls, he had of course crumbled to the ground but not before he grabbed Kagome down with him, making her smack down on the floor – thus evolving in her bruising her arm.  
  
Karira had freaked out, knowing that a horrid fight was in store for them so had run inside the villa and had called security having them pull apart the bloodthirsty pair.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Taisho had been informed immediately, and it only needed three words for them to understand what had happened. "Inu-Yasha – Kagome – Together"  
  
So, now both of them were sitting in Mr. Taisho's office, glaring daggers at each other from the other side of the room, having Mr. and Mrs. Taisho sitting in the middle, in elapsed silence wondering what to do with them.  
  
"So... what happened-." Mrs. Taisho started but was cut off by Inu-Yasha.  
  
_"She kicked my friggin' balls!"_ He yelled out and pointed an accusing finger at Kagome.  
  
Kagome narrowed her eyes and spoke up before he got a chance to continue. "Not before _**he**_ swore-."  
  
"_She kicked my **FRIGGIN'** balls!"_  
  
**_"HE SWORE!"_**  
  
_"SHE KICKED MY BALLS!"_  
  
_"HE SWORE AT ME!"  
  
"YOU KICKED MY DAMN FRIGGIN BALLS!"  
  
"YOU BLOODY HELL SWORE AT ME!"  
  
"YOU FU-."_  
  
_**"Shut up!"**_ Mr. Taisho slammed his hands on his table and stood up, his eyes obviously showing anger at both of them.  
  
Both of them froze and shut their mouths immediately, glancing at Mr. Taisho surprisingly.  
  
Inu-Yasha was the first to speak. "...dad, you swore!"  
  
He rolled his eyes, ignoring the tugs his wife was giving him on his right arm. "Like you don't swear, now I want you to call a truce and live in peace for once!" he said, knowing that a truce was the last thing in their binders that they were going to do.  
  
"Truce with him? Oh – _please..."_ Kagome said and rolled her eyes at the stupidity of it all.  
  
"Like I would ever have a basis apart from hatred with _her_" Inu-Yasha replied to his fathers command and folded his arms across his chest.  
  
Kagome couldn't help but accept that the last part hurt. The fact to have an immense hatred received from one person for a lifetime and to have him treat everyone else differently couldn't be helped to hurt a little.  
  
Even though with a dozen different things scurrying through her mind, Kagome regained her previous stiff posture and glared at Inu-Yasha who was glaring back.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Taisho sighed and glanced at each other, knowing that creating a friendship between them was impossible.  
  
"Well, just promise that you won't fight each other... physically" Mrs. Taisho negotiated, hoping that this would work.  
  
"Whatever" Both of them replied with synchronized voices, and after doing so, looked away from each other.  
  
"That means, no kicking... personal places, got it?" Mr. Taisho said and looked especially at Kagome who gained a tint of pink on her cheeks as she caught his stare.  
  
"...and I don't want any swearing either!" Mrs. Taisho said and glared at Inu- Yasha who scoffed and looked away.  
  
"Understand?" the parents said together and waited for a reply.  
  
Kagome said a timid yes and Inu-Yasha 'feh'd' informing the parents that a solemn promise had been created between them, though how long it would last no one in the room knew.  
  
"Now, Inu-Yasha – you have a meeting with the press, something about... fan girls... you limo is waiting outside..." Mrs. Taisho said hurriedly, in worry that another fight would start in the time being.  
  
Inu-Yasha said a stiff 'ok' and got up, and headed out the door.  
  
Kagome let out a frustrated sigh and got up, giving a warm smile to the parents and started to head out the door before she was stopped as Mrs. Taisho called out her name. She turned around and waited for them to continue.  
  
"...Don't let him get on your nerves dear" Mrs. Taisho said warmly, receiving a smile from Kagome.  
  
"I won't" she said and walked out the door, closing the door behind her.  
  
Walking down the fresh cleaned tiled corridors, she made sure she was out of any ear distance before she spoke up. "Don't let him get on my nerves my ass..."  
  
After she had gotten some assistance from passing strangers, she had found her way to her room around the villa she had momentarily forgotten. Smiling as she read the sign which said 'Kagome' on it she turned the doorknob and stepped inside the room.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened by instinct as she saw her room, which was two times bigger than the one she had at home. The floor was carpeted by soft purple plush, meaning shoes were definitely prohibited in the area.  
  
A big king sized bed was set in the middle of the room, the bed sheets were white and silky, having a purple trim on the border. The bed covers were white and fluffed and the pillows were large enough to engulf her head.  
  
The room had one plasma TV inserted on the wall in front of the bed and beneath the TV, on the vacant spot on the wall was written in black letters: "Kagome"  
  
There was a large dressing table beside the bed, with a large mirror seated on top of the dressing table. The cupboard was beside the door, and the clothes which she had picked from home were already there along with some clothes the villa provided.  
  
There was a large five speaker stereo placed on the other side of Kagome's bed and a small remote was beside it which advised the TV and stereo.  
  
A lap top was seen on top of her bed and a play station two was on a shelf which had many games along with another plasma TV. Their was a window set directly in front of her the size of one whole side of the room, the curtains were beige and flowed right down to the ground.  
  
Wondering where the balcony was, she realized that the oak door beside the window probably led to it.  
  
Kagome wore off her shock, somehow – every time she came to this villa, her room changed – it was either her carpet or her bed... her shelves and cupboards... or maybe this time, it was the whole thing. Wanting to check out the bathroom she closed the door behind her slowly, careful not to damage the expensive oak tree framing and took off her shoes.  
  
Wearing her socks, she walked towards the bathroom and opened the door and gasped again.  
  
The bathroom had widened immensely – this time, it was big enough to be compared to her room at her home, and if they did compare, the bathroom would be bigger.  
  
The bathroom was tiled with black shining tiles and a large window was set directly in front of her and the window was shielded with a red curtain, giving the bathroom a gothic glow.  
  
The bathroom was settled with normal bathroom attributes, apart from the Jacuzzi on the left and the oak door on the right. Wondering where the door let to Kagome stepped in and opened it.  
  
"Oh, god..." She murmured out as she realized that it was a sauna. "I never imagined I'd have a sauna in my bathroom..."  
  
Closing the door she made her way out of the bathroom and back into the room at the sound of a doorbell ringing throughout her room. Opening the door she sent a puzzled look at Karira who was standing with a warm smile on her face.  
  
"I have a doorbell?" She asked as the sound slowly faded away.  
  
Karira laughed and nodded, "Yep... right here" She said and pointed to the pink switch on the other side of the door. "We took a poll in the villa and majority of guests and residents voted that it's too tiring to knock on every door, so now every one has doorbell in their rooms"  
  
Kagome smiled nervously and nodded, a little hesitant to the idea that just because people couldn't bother to knock, they had handled doorbells throughout the villa.  
  
"Oh... and were sorry, but we didn't know you were coming until last night, so we couldn't build an indoor swimming pool, but don't worry – you can always share mine" Karira continued, giving Kagome a warm smile.  
  
"Uh... it's okay, I don't need an indoor swimming pool anyway" She replied ignoring the slight shock she gave Karira. "Well... you know me – I don't need any saunas or... Jacuzzi's, this king sized bed, these plasma TV's or -... well, I'm just saying you didn't have to go through all the trouble" Kagome finished off and returned Karira's warm smile.  
  
Karira laughed, "Oh, don't worry about all that – it was our pleasure... well, most of ours, if you know what I mean"  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes as she mentioned Inu-Yasha and nodded. "Anyway, I met your parents, though it wasn't how I imagined it... but where's Sesshy?"  
  
Karira gave Kagome a sly grin. "He would have come to meet you, but he was too busy thinking up ways to propose to Rin, he's been at it for months and he still hasn't built up the courage..."  
  
Kagome smiled brightly. "That is _so_ sweet! I was wondering when Sesshomaru was going to propose to her, remember when he used to get all angry and jealous when another guy touched or said anything to her?"  
  
Karira laughed. "Oh, how could I ever forget? The only thing I'm actually worried about is the outburst all his female fans are going to create..."  
  
Kagome 'ah'd' and nodded. "That's one thing that's going to be hard"  
  
"Yep..." Karira agreed and walked towards her bed and sat down on it. "Anyway, what to do you want to do this summer?"  
  
Kagome sat beside Karira and thought about her options, saying the most important ones first. "Stay away from your brother Inu-Yasha"  
  
Karira shot Kagome a smile, "We can't ever forget that"  
  
Kagome laughed. "And... well, I'm ready to live another summer like a celebrity!"  
  
Nodding, Karira flopped down and grabbed the remote from the dressing table as she motioned Kagome to lie down beside her. Following her instructions, Kagome flopped down on her belly right beside Karira and watched as she skimmed through the channels, stopping momentarily on some as they mentioned the Taisho's name.  
  
One channel however, caught both of their attentions.  
  
_"And what's this? It seems like the Taisho's have very special guests! This morning at 9.36 a.m. a black limo was spotted entering the platinum gates of the Taisho's villa shortly followed by another limo at 10.04 a.m.  
  
As most people know, almost everything that the Taisho's buy or create has their symbol on it, and this limo was no exception, meaning the Taisho's had specifically sent a limo to pick two passengers up!  
  
A passing photographer snapped photo's of the two limo's, the first one revealing what seemed to be a teenage girl inside and the other one revealed who could be a small boy throughout the age of five to seven.  
  
Even though the identities remain un-known, rumor has it that the teenage girl in the first limo may be the second son Inu-Yasha Taisho's or first son Sesshomaru Taisho's girlfriend!  
_  
Karira and Kagome gaped as two snapshots appeared on the TV, the first one with Kagome, her window screen half way enrolled revealing half of her head, showing that she had raven black hair and a white head band on and the second one showing her brother as he weirdly stuck his left leg out of the window.  
  
As the documentary finished, Kagome was speechless as Karira stated blankly at the TV screen.  
  
"Oh crap!" Karira exclaimed as the shock wore off.  
  
"Oh bloody hell... if anyone recognized me –" Kagome started off and Karira continued.  
  
"-Your family would be in deep shit"  
  
Kagome nodded in approval and then glanced at Karira. "Haven't you noticed, every time I come to your villa, it gets harder and harder to keep my family a secret?"  
  
Karira nodded in approval. "Our fame ratings are going higher every month; we've never had so much security before in our life"  
  
Kagome glanced at Karira. "I hope this doesn't mean I can't go out of the villa..."  
  
Karira put on a thoughtful expression. "You'll probably be allowed to go outside the villa, probably not that often – we've limited our going out time as well you know..."  
  
Kagome smiled. "Well, as long as I don't have to be alone then I guess its okay"  
  
Karira nodded again and then laughed as she heard Kagome's stomach give a grumble.  
  
"Hungry?"  
  
"...a little"  
  
.......................................  
  
Two hours and in the counting... Kagome had unpacked all the stuff no one else had already packed and had settled herself comfortably in her room. Lunch was about to be served at 2.00, meaning only five minutes left before she could rush down and fill her stomach which was aching with hunger.  
  
Karira had left half an hour earlier, something to do with a manicure, leaving Kagome alone in her bedroom with absolutely nothing to do, apart from the photo album which had been placed in front of her which she didn't dare to open.  
  
"You hold evil memories..." she muttered to no one in particular apart from the photo album which stared innocently back.  
  
"Some of which I'd like to forget..." She said and flopped down on her stomach to stare blankly at the closed photo album.  
  
"How come you're back, didn't I say I never want to look at you again?" she murmured and rested her head on her palms which were propped up by her elbows.  
  
Seeing she didn't have anything to do for the next five minutes and as the photo album was practically calling out to her, she gave up into her thoughts and reached forward to open the albums.  
  
She slowly looked at the pictures; so far they weren't so bad, well, apart from the ones where Inu-Yasha and Kagome were practically killing each other.  
  
Wanting some music to fill the room, she grabbed the remote and turned on the radio, surprisingly tuning into a song that was very ironic to her at this moment.  
  
_**I tried to kill the pain... **_

_**But only brought more... **_

_** (so much more)**_  
  
Kagome jerked as the song 'Tourniquet' by Evanescence started filling the room. Widening her eyes, she cursed the radio for specifically playing that song at this moment.  
  
_**I lay dying...  
  
and I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal...**_  
  
Kagome felt her heart tighten as she saw a dozen pictures hidden behind one 'happy' picture. Knowing what those pictures held, she slowly took them out, her stomach starting to feel queasy as she saw the contents.  
  
_**I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming...  
  
Am I too lost to be saved...  
  
Am I too lost?**_  
  
Kagome shut the album at once, changing the radio channel as she did so. That one picture... that one picture had the powers to convert her mood from happiness to sadness, anger, betrayal and regret.  
  
"And curse that stupid song to be aired at that moment..." Kagome murmured as she threw the photo album on the floor with as much force she could muster.  
  
Before she could say anything else the doorbell rang, almost scaring Kagome out of her wits.  
  
"Eh... coming!" she said and quickly wiped a tear which had slipped down her face.  
  
Opening the door, she put on a bright smile as she saw Sesshomaru waiting politely for her on the corridor outside, _"Hi Sesshy!"_  
  
He jerked his head towards her in surprise as if he hadn't sensed her coming and stumbled for his words before he spoke. "Uh... eh... h-hi!"  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow as she stepped outside to walk down the corridor to the dining room with him. "What's up with you?"  
  
He shook his head with a slight daze in his eyes. "Karira probably told you, you know... about Rin and..."  
  
Kagome laughed as she walked down the steps with him. "That is so sweet, so you're finally in love eh?"  
  
He grunted and looked away with an embarrassed expression, making Kagome laugh even more. "If you're so embarrassed in front of me, I won't be surprised if you faint if front of Rin!"  
  
"Whatever" He replied with a scoff, and started to run down the steps so he could hide the small red tint on his cheeks.  
  
"Sesshy and Rin, sitting in a tree... K – I – S – S – I – N – G! First -." Kagome started but was cut off as a feminine voice was heard from above.  
  
_"Fluffy, where are you?! Are you avoiding me?!"_  
  
Kagome burst into laughter as Sesshomaru froze as Rin's yell carried down the steps, confusion evident in her voice.  
  
"_Shut up_ Kagome!" He snapped out as he looked in either ways for any direction of escape, not finding any, he decided to walk as quickly as he could down the steps without looking as if he was running away from Rin.  
  
As Rin ran down the steps, hearing Kagome's laughter, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Kagome head over heels in a giggling fit. "Kagome, is that you?"  
  
Kagome looked up, her eyes full of tears of laughter. "Yeah" She said between gasps of laughter.  
  
"Well, it's nice to meet you again – but have you seen Fluffy anywhere, I swear it seems like he's avoiding me these days" Rin said and pouted as she looked around to see if Sesshomaru was anywhere near.  
  
Kagome had to hold in her giggle as she heard Sesshomaru's nickname fly out of Rin's mouth, no one had figured out where Rin had gotten the name Fluffy from, but as long as Sesshomaru said it was okay, nobody bothered to ask.  
  
Kagome thought for a minute before giving Sesshomaru's hideout away. "Yeah, I just saw him run down the steps."  
  
Rin frowned as she crossed her arms across her chest. "But he must have heard me... meaning he is avoiding me!"  
  
Kagome jerked up instantly, knowing if she didn't do anything now, Sesshomaru would kill her knowing that she was the reason for their break up.  
  
"Yeah, but there was another case of _craz_y fan girls at the gate, so if he didn't run out now, they might have broken down the gates..." Kagome said, with fake concern and terror in her voice.  
  
Rin stopped in her tracks and thought about Kagome's reason. "Well... I guess he did have a reason then, I'll meet him in his room later on then!" she said and put on a bright smile.  
  
Kagome smiled back, feeling a little dumbstruck at Rin's stupidity. Hadn't she figured out by now that something suspicious had been going on between her and Sesshomaru? Shrugging off the feeling of just bursting out the reason why Sesshomaru had actually been avoiding her, she gave Rin a final wave and scurried down the steps to catch up with Sesshomaru.  
  
She found him in the dining room, which had, like everything else in the villa – widened immensely. As she entered the dining room, she couldn't help but gaze at the large and humungous chandelier which hanged from the ceiling, it wasn't lit of course due to the fact it was only two in the afternoon but it still seemed to give off that magnificent glow.  
  
The fireplace was set directly in front of the dining room and it was as tall as Kagome and as wide as five of her. There was a red carpet set on underneath the table, allowing people to take off their shows as they ate.  
  
Looking around, she noticed that the windows were as large as one side of the room, and the curtains were drawn, inviting sunlight into the dining room as the white marble reflected off the light, giving the whole dining room an inviting and warm glow.  
  
Seeing that Sesshomaru, Karira and Mrs. and Mr. Taisho were already seated at the table and were waiting for her arrival, she walked elegantly up to the table and sat directly beside Sesshomaru, ready to taunt him with his 'love' problems.  
  
Noticing someone was missing she felt knots in her stomach loosen as she realized that Inu-Yasha wasn't here. Not bothering to ask where he was, she sat looked around politely and then glanced at her plate of food.  
  
Dinner went by normally, no one really talked and as Kagome had learned throughout the times she had spent with the Taisho's... when they were hungry, a solemn rule was made that no one talked throughout breakfast, lunch or dinner unless someone was about to about to die.  
  
Kagome was drinking her champagne when Mrs. Taisho spoke up. "I thought Inu- Yasha promised he'd come to lunch today..."  
  
Mr. Taisho coughed and looked around as if just realizing that he wasn't here.  
  
"He promised last year that he'd come to lunch, he still hasn't arrived" Sesshomaru pointed out.  
  
"His interview was supposed to be only half an hour long wasn't it?" Mrs. Taisho asked and Kagome couldn't help but feel pity for the dear lady as hints of worry and concern were heard in her voice.  
  
"Mom, don't worry – this happens every day, he's probably just hanging out with his friends" Karira said and sent a warm smile at her mother who smiled nervously back.  
  
Kagome felt anger boil inside of her. Inu-Yasha's mother was worrying day and night about him and all he did was 'hang' out with his friends? She sighed in disappointment; he didn't deserve a life like this, not if he didn't appreciate the people who gave to him.  
  
Shaking her head slightly in disapproval she sipped her champagne and looked around, her thoughts slowly slipping back to the boy she hated with her soul. "Someone really should snap some sense into him" She said out aloud, not even caring that she was insulting the brother and son of people around her.  
  
However, no one backed him up and they all nodded.  
  
Karira looked sideways at Kagome, and with the lightest and softest voice she could muster, she whispered. "I hope you've forgotten about what happened two years ago."  
  
Kagome felt someone pull a cord on her heart and new anger and hatred for Inu-Yasha rushed back into her. "Oh, I rue the day I actually trusted that bastard brother of yours, all he did was laugh..."  
  
Karira smiled nervously in regret. "I know, it was simply horrible, even I didn't think he was capable of such... hideous doings."  
  
"Well, at least you know now" Kagome replied.  
  
Karira nodded. "And he just gets worse by the day."  
  
**.......................................................**  
  
By now most of you must be wondering what happened two years ago, what Inu- Yasha had done to Kagome (Eh... don't get a wrong picture [by that I mean rape]) and what pictures Kagome had seen to make her ... so, so sad...  
  
Well – you'll only figure out if I update...  
  
And I'll only update if you review!  
  
Lol...  
  
Well, so until next time!  
  
Byez!


	3. Vengeance

**Now... first of all, I just want to say a little thank you.  
  
Goddess-Of-Anime: Weee... you've reviewed practically every chapter of every one of my stories! Well, I just had to say ... thankyou! .  
  
And to all the people who are wondering what the 'hell' Inu-Yasha did to Kagome... you'll find out sooner or later, it wont be kept hidden for long though T.T  
  
That's all, I can't keep you waiting – on with the chapter!  
**  
**..................  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Vengeance  
  
..................**  
  
Lunch went by normally, the only conversation the group had were either about the location of Inu-Yasha (making Kagome's skin crawl) or about how the monthly bill for their villa had gone to a whopping 2.3 million.  
  
"... They won't let us off, they keep rising the price for the Villa... don't you think that we should take off the solid gold bathroom taps for the servant headquarters?" Mr. Taisho quarreled, looking at his skinny wife who was currently munching on her broccoli.  
  
"No – no, we should treat the servants equally honey, lets just remove the indoor theater...we pay over 1000 dollars weekly for that so we can see new movies"  
  
"But mom – then where are we going to go watch movies?" Karira suddenly piped out looking very dismayed.  
  
"But – fine...then..."  
  
"What did we get cousin Kanna for her birthday?" Sesshomaru asked, cutting off his mother in mid sentence.  
  
"Oh – we bought her an airfield, oh... that sweetie, she loves airplanes doesn't she?" Mrs. Taisho replied, her eyes going into a little daze as she thought about their so called adorable younger cousin.  
  
"Yeah, and we spent 4.2 million on just that, why couldn't we have bought her a mansion, it would have been _much_ cheaper" Sesshomaru said simply, giving his mother a hard stare.  
  
"Well... we... eh..."  
  
"She's too young to live by herself!"  
  
Kagome hesitated as she took a sip from her lemonade, feeling very left out of the conversation she tried to distract herself from the quarrel going on between the members of family. Looking around for something she could interest herself with, she rose her eyebrows as she saw a certain someone walk by on the pathway beside the dining room windows.  
  
Kagome nudged Karira, knowing that this certain person was not a please to the family. "Hey, Karira" She whispered, forgetting that whispering was useless around a pack of dog demons.  
  
Karira looked at her and put on a questioning expression. "Yeah?"  
  
"Kouga's here, I saw him walk by on the pathway outside" she said and was about to return to her lunch when everyone fell into complete silence.  
  
"Who's here?" Mr. Taisho questioned and narrowed his eyebrows at Kagome, making her very uncomfortable under his stare.  
  
"I... uh... saw Kouga walk outside -." Kagome started but was cut off as Mr. and Mrs. Taisho got up; their chairs rattling with the sudden movement, leaving their lunch unfinished, Sesshomaru relieved a frustrated sigh and followed his parents out the dining room, where they probably went outside to meet up with Kouga.  
  
Thus leaving Karira and Kagome alone at the table.  
  
"I shouldn't have said that." Kagome said as she stared at her food.  
  
Karira giggled, "Oh well, at least we don't have to listen to what my parents want in and out of the villa," she said and pushed her plate aside. "Yuck! Who eats broccoli with spaghetti?"  
  
"At least the spaghetti tastes good," Kagome said out of pure innocence. "Anyway – I still don't know why your parents distaste Kouga and his family so much."  
  
Karira looked over at Kagome and shook her head. "Oh, you know – they've been blackmailing us since I was born... keep asking for more and more money, or else they'll tell the press this – or they'll tell the press that..." Karira shook her head. "...It's just stupid, they won't leave us alone."  
  
Kagome put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her right palm. "I knew that, but I don't know what they're blackmailing you guys about."  
  
Karira sighed. "Neither do I, Sesshomaru says 'It's not for little girls, I don't want you getting worked up about nothing' nor then mother and father say 'Ah – just normal issues', _come on_... are issues _ever _normal?"  
  
Kagome laughed and then stood up. "I guess not, but anyway, I'm going for a little walk – oh and please tell Souta that he has to eat lunch and give the video games a rest!"  
  
Karira nodded. "Sure, I'll meet you later; I'll see if I can find Inu- Yasha, you want to come?"  
  
Kagome looked at her as if she were stupid. "No way... I'd rather go for the walk!"  
  
Karira laughed though she shook her head and pushed her chair in as she stood up. "Oh, could you go to the pharmacy for me and grab me a few demonic cough tablets?"  
  
Kagome nodded and gave Karira a warm smile. "Sure, well – I'll see you later!"  
  
Karira yelled a thank you and ran out the dining room with incredible speed, leaving Kagome alone in the large hall.  
  
Sighing, she pushed her chair in and drank the last drops of her lemonade. Running outside of the dining room, she yelled as she almost crashed amongst one of the villa guest.  
  
"Sorry!" She yelled out and felt her heart sink as his bag fell on the ground, and a sickening crunch from inside the bag indicated that some fragile contents in the bag had broke.  
  
"Oh god – please, if you're another Sesshomaru, Inu-Yasha, or Karira fan, stalk them – not me" The man said and grumbled when he reached down to pick his bag.  
  
"I said I was sorry" she said and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The man looked up and his once frustrated and sore face changed immediately.  
  
"Oh – why didn't you say you were a fine young lady?" He said and immediately took her hand into his.  
  
Kagome hesitated as she eyed his wide and dreamy eyes. "I didn't know I had to..."  
  
"Well, that changed everything! Hi, my name is Miroku..." He said and pulled Kagome towards his chest, encircling his free arm around her shoulder.  
  
Kagome looked at him with hesitation, confused at his antics. "Um, hi... could you let me go?"  
  
"Doesn't this feel right - ?" he said and smiled warmly at her, though his smile only crept her out.  
  
"I'm sorry-."  
  
"Doesn't this feel like we were meant to meet each other-?" he said, ignoring her struggle to push some word into his mouth.  
  
"Eh no-."  
  
"Finally, I've met someone who fulfils my every needs – beautiful, kind, apologetic..." he trailed on, leaving Kagome a tad flattered, though she was still trying to get out of his preach.  
  
"That's flattering but -."  
  
_"Marry me!"_ He said and pulled her into a hug, squeezing the living daylights out of her.  
  
**_"Excuse me?"_** She yelled out, her impatience with this man already proceeding over the limit.  
  
"Let's share a passionate night of -." This time, he was the one who was interrupted.  
  
"Oh go get a room, and certainly _not_ with me!" Kagome yelled out at him, lifting her leg and kicking him in the stomach with her knee.  
  
He doubled over in surprise, shock and pain, letting go of Kagome and looking at her with surprise.  
  
"You son of a pervert, ew – nasty... just get lost, and never touch me again!" Kagome yelled out, bending down to give him a sharp slap on the cheek and before he could get up and say something, Kagome turned around and ran out of the Villa.  
  
Closing the main oak doors behind her, she didn't think twice before running down the pathway to the main gates... the villa had changed a lot, getting more and more improvements, and now she had just figured out that it was receiving more creeps as well.  
  
Reaching the large platinum gates, she looked over to the security guards and motioned them to open the gates for her.  
  
"Yes ma'am" he said and pushed the button.  
  
Sighing in relief as the gates opened she walked out and looked around, trying to remember the way to pharmacy.  
  
"Walk down the road, turn right on the golden sign of the Taisho's mark of property, walk down that road, turn left when you see a mansion which says 'recording studio', then walk down that road, and when you turn left on a sharp turn in the end of the road, you'll see two stores, enter the one of the right – keep walking down the mall, and when you see "Demon Needs" – enter that, and there you'll see the pharmacy." The security guard behind the gates said immediately, as if knowing what was on her mind.  
  
Kagome turned around in wonder to how he knew what she was thinking.  
  
"Miss Karira told me you might need directions." He said gruffly and then returned to his casual posture.  
  
Kagome nodded and then followed his lead. Walking down the clean and kept road she turned right when she saw a big gold board saying the mark that the following field belonged officially to the Taisho's.  
  
Feeling a tinge of what could possibly have been jealousy, she moved her attention somewhere else and continued walking down the road.  
  
She was about to turn left at the studio mansion when she heard voices, and most specifically, his voice.  
  
She stopped dead in her tracks, and immediately hid behind the turn, not caring if she was eavesdropping on the famous, and almighty Inu-Yasha...  
  
"My mother is so dumb; I can't believe she actually fell for that..." Inu- Yasha's said, and laughed along with his friends.  
  
Kagome felt her blood boil... his mother was worrying about him at the dining table and here he was, making fun of her?  
  
"She actually thinks you're off on an interview? I'd like to see how she would react when she hears you went to the playboy mansion..." an anonymous voice said.  
  
Kagome didn't make a sound, knowing very well that if she even took a deep breath, she would be discovered.  
  
"Yeah – I hate her, she never leaves me alone – I wish that she would just disappear" Inu-Yasha replied, Kagome dreading his each and every word.  
  
"Oh, yo Yash – we heard that the slut was back at your Villa!" Another, though different anonymous voice yelled out.  
  
"Yeah, what was her name again?" The first voice said.  
  
"Ah – can't bother to remember" Inu-Yasha replied, and Kagome narrowed her eyes as the topic drifted off to her.  
  
"Damn, she'll never leave you alone,"  
  
"Yeah – and even after what happened two years ago, she still comes to nag..."  
  
"Yep – and you'll crack up on this, she lives in a shrine!" Inu-Yasha said, and his two friends burst up laughing.  
  
"Oh god... she's so poor!"  
  
"She probably lives there so she can pray to god that her parents can finally get some sense into their minds"  
  
All three men started laughing, though Kagome was on the verge of controlling her suppressed desire to kill them all.  
  
Not bearing to stay any longer and hear them insult her family any longer, she turned around and ran back to the Villa.  
  
....................................................  
  
"**UGH! I HATE HIM SO MUCH**!" Kagome yelled out as she paced back and forth in her room trying to figure out a plot of revenge... no one, and she meant it – no one got away with insulting her family.  
  
Looking around, having the need to break something, she picked up the flowerpot and threw it on the floor, the carpet protecting it from breaking however the water spilled out and created a messy mess.  
  
_"Inu-Yasha I swear, you will not get away with this..."_ She vowed to herself, feeling that this trip to the Taisho's was definitely worse than any other trip... well, apart from the incident which happened two years ago.  
  
Not being able to sustain her anger in her room any longer, she barged out of the room and rushed down the clean tiled corridor in rage, ignoring the stares she was getting from passing strangers for her outrage.  
  
"Hey – pass the paint Bob!"  
  
Kagome froze in her tracks and looked behind her, where the voice had come from.  
  
Two kids were playing, the one who was supposedly Bob was carrying one large can of red paint and the other kid had a large paint brush.  
  
Then it snapped.  
  
Running up to the kids, she reached down and placed a hand on Bob's shoulder. "Sweetie, may I borrow that can of paint for a while?"  
  
The kid looked up at her and then shrugged. "Yeah, whatever"  
  
"And... um... may I borrow that brush?" Kagome asked the other kid who gave it to her without a hesitating glance.  
  
"Thank you!" She said and then turned around, this time, her anger mixed with sweet revenge. "...Whoever said revenge was sweet was so right."  
  
..................................  
  
After asking at least a dozen passing strangers, and half a dozen servants, she had finally reached her destination... Inu-Yasha's room.  
  
Smiling with vengeance, she put the large paint brush in her mouth to create a free hand in which she could open the door with.  
  
Turning the doorknob, she kicked the door open and rushed in, closing the door behind her so no one would guess that she had invaded the superstar's personal property.  
  
Looking around she ignored the expensive property placed around the exquisite and luxurious room and walked straight in, not taking off her dirty shoes thus ruining the carpet.  
  
She jumped on the bed, the red paint spilling over the, what seemed to be, expensive mattress and pillows. Kagome shrugged, he deserved that...  
  
Dipping the paint brush in the paint, she reached up for the wall and wrote, in big and ugly letters:  
  
_"iF yOu HaTe YoUr MoThEr So BlOoDy MuCh, ThEn gEt OuT oF hEr PrOpertY!"  
_  
Kagome smiled evilly, not regretting her work one single bit. That sentence took up one whole side of the wall. Looking around she jumped off the bed, spilling some paint on the bed again and this time, jumped on the sofa, spilling paint on the golden traced cushions.  
  
This time, in big ugly letters she wrote:  
  
_"yOu ThInK I aM sO pOoR, yOu ShOuLdn'T cArE aBoUt Me, cArE aBoUt YoUrSeLf - yOu LOOK liKe TrAsh!"  
_  
Kagome breathed out anger, only two more walls to ruin... she didn't care if her kicked her out of the villa, she didn't care if he told all the companies to disregard her job applications, or if he took away her home or all of her money, because her hatred for him at his moment exceeded every other thought.  
  
Jumping off the couch she ran up the TV and pushed it off the table, making room for her to stand on the furniture. Reaching up, she wrote:  
  
_"YoUr SuCh A dUmB aSs! AfTeR yEaRs and YeArs oF kNoWinG me – yOu sTiLl dOnT KNoW mY nAme, YoU hAvE sOmE SErIoUs PrObLeMs!"  
_  
Kagome smiled and then jumped off the table, and this time, crouched down so she could write on the expensive carpet, this time, she was going to write something that would remind him of the torture she received two years ago...  
  
_"TrAiTor!"_  
  
Kagome stood up and threw the brush on the ground and emptied the remnants of the paint can all around the word 'traitor'.  
  
Throwing the empty can down on the carpet, she kicked the stool in front of the computer table down before leaving the vandalized room.  
  
**..................................................................... **

****

**Sorry... it's a small chapter, I was on a little writers block, but I promise that the next chapter will be much, much longer! **

**Ohh... Wonder whats gonna happen next eh? **

**Lol . **

**Until next time - Byez!**


	4. Nighty Night?

**Okay... you all may be wondering "Hey, wait a minute – it's her holidays, and she still isn't updating faster than she did before?"  
  
Well – here, this is my reason, and if you think its stupid, well – that's too bad for you.  
  
One review seriously caught my attention:**  
  
"Anonymous   
  
GR...IM MAD!...GR...You Made Inu-Yasha absolutly EVIL!...You better make Inu-Yasha a little bit nicer or some how justify how he acts...NOW!"  
  
**That was the first review of it's kind and first of all, let me tell you something – I may be the one who can take criticism, scolding, any many other types of verbal abuse – however – this, I can simply cannot tolerate.  
  
Secondly, I want to inform whoever wrote this note is – this is my fan fiction, not yours. If you don't like the circumstances in this fan fiction, the solution is simple: Do not read it. If you (whoever wrote this review) hadn't figured this out already, this fan fiction is AU – Alternate Universe, and the word 'Alternate' for me means everything is different/changed - whatever... You aren't the one who can tell me what to do with my fan fiction, you can advise, criticize, or compliment but you cannot 'force' me to change it.  
  
Thirdly, I have already set out my plans for this fan fiction – I know why Inu-Yasha or Kagome (either one) have these straight forward and vicious feelings for each other – I know what or when 'stuff' will happen – and if you (especially the reviewer who sent that note.) want me to rush everything and ruin the plot for everyone, tell me and I will gladly (or rather sadly) do so.  
  
Lastly, I'm not saying "Stop this right now!" to the people who want to know the secret to whatever happened exactly tow years ago, . No – I completely encourage you to review and tell me your thoughts or requests, but I would ask you sincerely not to force me to fill in your pleasures for the story – because, I don't only write to please my readers, but I write to please myself as well.  
  
Anywho . Now that's done and over with (I hope I didn't scare anyone) let's get on with the story!  
  
And one more thing before I start – just a reminder, Inu-Yasha did NOT rape Kagome! I would never do that in any of my stories! So let me assure you, rape is definitely not a possibility of the incident of which happened two years ago!  
**  
**..................  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Nighty Night?  
  
..................**  
  
Kagome smiled devilishly as she lay down on her fluffed, comfortable and heavenly soft bed, resting her head specifically on the large feather pillows. Sighing, she breathed in the fresh cool air conditioned air – ah... this was the life...  
  
Looking at the digital clock on the bed shelf beside her, she noticed that it was 2.50 a.m. and Inu-Yasha _still_ wasn't back from wherever he had gone after she had eavesdropped on him... probably back to the Play Boy Mansion... but heck – she didn't care... she just wanted to hear – or rather see his reaction to what she had done to his room.  
  
Even if it meant staying up till the dead and still hours of the morning... it was almost three a.m. and Kagome knew if he didn't come back sooner or later, she would drop dead asleep soon...  
  
And yet, she waited... occasionally flipping the TV channel back to the channel where it showed where and what was going on in the Villa, and right now – she was focused on the camera which showed Inu-Yasha's room which was currently and unfortunately vacant.  
  
It had taken a lot of begging and pleading to do, but she had finally convinced the security assistant who overlooked the video camera's in the building to give in to her demands, meaning – he had given her the privilege of seeing what was going on in Inu-Yasha's room, much to Kagome's delight.  
  
Putting the TV/DVD/Stereo remote down beside her she rubbed her temples; she wasn't going to be able to stay awake much longer...  
  
Yawning, she stretched her arms and snuggled into the fluffed and feather cushioned blankets and forced her eyes to remain open as she stared at the TV screen... oh god, didn't he get tired of partying all day and night?  
  
Kagome frowned when she remembered his mother asking at the dining table once again where his son was or if they had seen him. Kagome had remained silent all throughout dinner and wondered if Inu-Yasha's mother knew if he went to those horrid clubs.  
  
Snapping back to reality, she wondered if Inu-Yasha was even going to get home before dusk – seeing that the clock had just alarmed her that it was 3.00 a.m.  
  
She yawned again and was about to give up on waiting for Inu-Yasha when she noticed a movement in the TV screen.  
  
Excitement, cautiousness, wonder and the strange feeling of a jitter bug coursed straight through her body and she jerked straight up to a sitting position, her nerves and attention back on full notch and her eyes wide open in anticipation.  
  
The smile plastered back onto her face as she noticed the door open slowly and a sober Inu-Yasha make his way slowly into the room, though it seemed due to the lights not turned on in his room that he hadn't noticed anything.  
  
Kagome scrunched her eyes... come on... turn on the lights....  
  
A wider smile breached her face as he clicked on the lights and...  
  
Kagome laughed in her own enjoyment, watching with full delight as Inu- Yasha's face contorted with unreadable expressions. She sighed with complete satisfaction and delight... his expression was priceless...!  
  
She shut off the TV with the remote and reached over to shut off her lamp. Yawning as she did so, she put her mind at rest and closed her eyes, intending to go to sleep and as she did so, she didn't notice the slight bang which came from two stories above her.  
  
......................................  
  
"Kagome... wake up...!" Karira's voice embedded her dreams and she groaned slightly and shifted her weight to the other side of her body... no one was going to wake her up now – not after she had gone to sleep at the peak of dusk!  
  
"No!" She yelled out as Karira shook her shoulders roughly.  
  
"But it's horrible... Inu-Yasha –." Karira started off but was cut off as Kagome snorted.  
  
"Dumb ass..."  
  
Karira blinked in confusion – was the comment for her, for Inu-Yasha or just directed at someone in her dreams? Shrugging off the question, she slapped Kagome on the cheek lightly.  
  
"Wake up!" She yelled out in complete frustration and pushed Kagome off the bed with her demon strength.  
  
Kagome yelled out as her body came in contact with the ground and the alarm clock fell off the bed shelf and landed sharply on her back. She growled deeply in her chest... this wasn't working.  
  
Rubbing her eyes, she sat up groggily and eyed the alarm clock.  
  
Shit.  
  
It was only 3.31 a.m. – meaning she had only slept for half an hour. Growling, Kagome stood up and glared half heartedly at Karira.  
  
"Why'd you... wake me up?" Kagome asked, meaning to sound angry but only sounded confused as she tried to remember what had happened half an hour ago.  
  
Karira sighed. "Inu-Yasha's mad... real mad!" she said and looked at Kagome straight in the eye.  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "...and I should care?"  
  
Karira smirked but shook her head as she did so. "He woke up everyone in the villa by picking up his oak built cupboard and smashing it on the tiled floored corridors."  
  
Kagome stood there, just registering what she said into her mind... then it all came back. "I see..." was the only thing she said, not knowing if she should feel either scared or happy that he was in a state of anger. Hell – he could come in this room and kill her with his own bare hands... but she had finally gotten him back for those cruel words of his.  
  
She settled for the latter and decided on feeling happy, but as she looked at Karira's expression, she softened her tone. "I mean – eh... that's horrible..."  
  
Karira rolled her eyes. "I know you don't care Kagome, but it was horrible, I went and saw, his rooms been vandalized!"  
  
Kagome felt guilt rise in her stomach. "So what's he up to now?"  
  
Karira shrugged. "All the guests and residents of the villa are gathered there, watching him answer all these questions by the press – I don't know how _they_ found out, but he's being flooded with questions and people."  
  
Kagome nodded slowly and then looked at Karira again.  
  
Damn.  
  
She knew what Karira was trying to say to her... she, Kagome – who knew Karira practically all her life, knew what that look was all about.  
  
She had used that expression when she wanted her to watch the latest horror movie her... and when she wanted Kagome to sneak into the kitchens late at night to steal the wedding cake for her cousins wedding.  
  
She gulped; she wanted Kagome to go see Inu-Yasha's room.  
  
...............................  
  
Kagome surprised herself as she saw dozens and dozens... and dozens and dozens of people gathered around Inu-Yasha's room. Taking in a deep breath, she let herself be pulled into the crowd by Karira who had a tight grip on Kagome's wrist – making sure she wouldn't run away.  
  
Kagome squirmed as she felt bodies press onto her... this was horrible – how could the Taisho's stand so many people living in their Villa and surround them whenever something happened to them?  
  
She took a deep gasp of air, this was stinky... she could smell sweat from the bodies which were trying to see what was happening and could feel their breaths on her neck... jeez – why was everyone so close? She felt like vomiting as the hot and sweaty atmosphere ran up her nostrils and into her lungs, forcing her to breathe in this stinky air.  
  
She sighed in relief as Karira reached the front of the crowd and pulled Kagome up with her, though all the relief was pushed away as Kagome saw Inu- Yasha sitting in the middle of his room, with photo camera's, interviewers, TV camera's, microphones, and god knows what other accessories were being held around him.  
  
Kagome hesitated as she saw camera's click away, capturing the scene of the 'crime'.  
  
Focusing her attention on Inu-Yasha, she noticed he was in the middle of a deep interview with several people. How could he just sit in the middle and tolerate all the lights being flashed at him? She knew she had no tolerance for that...  
  
Kagome froze as she saw Inu-Yasha glance at her for a millisecond and she felt her blood turn into ice as she saw the words "I-know-you-did-this!" glowering from his face.  
  
Kagome looked at Karira who was biting her nails as she stared intensely at the conversation going on between the press and Inu-Yasha. Oh god, how she would love to get away from all this, she could practically feel people pushing behind her and she could've sworn she felt someone grasp her derrière – even if it was for a second.  
  
It seemed like an hour... no – actually, two – three- four hours as they both stood there, waiting for the pressure and intensity to die down.  
  
It was 5.45 a.m. when the press had finally decided to leave, and it was around 6.30 a.m. when everyone else who had come to investigate had finally gone back to their rooms, and Kagome was on the verge of fainting as she had only had been able to have less than half an hour of sleep.  
  
Karira pulled Kagome into the room and shut Inu-Yasha's door behind them, and only then – did Karira let out a big sigh of relief.  
  
"Now that was a big and busy night, don't you all think?" Karira said and sat down on a chair one interviewer had been sitting on. Kagome shrugged in reply and Inu-Yasha let out a frustrated sigh.  
  
"Mom and dad don't know right?" Inu-Yasha said and looked directly at Karira, ignoring Kagome completely.  
  
"I didn't see them, but they probably didn't, their room is right across from ours so they could've slept through it all."  
  
_'Lucky them...'_ Kagome thought and grumbled silently to herself.  
  
"Sesshomaru's handling the police outside right?" Inu-Yasha questioned, making Kagome's blood freeze.  
  
_'Police? Oh god – I can't believe he made this into such a big deal! But he is a celebrity so I guess it only comes naturally...'_ Kagome thought to herself, holding on to Karira's chair so she didn't faint and fall asleep right on the floor.  
  
"Yeah, hey... Kagome, I called you here for a reason – could I ask you for a favor?" Karira asked and suddenly both of their attentions were set on Kagome who looked dead as a zombie, and only now did Karira notice. "Kagome – **what happened to you?"**  
  
Kagome felt her mood dampen, damn everyone – all she had wanted was to go to sleep, but instead, she had ended up staying awake all night because of stupid Inu-Yasha. "I only had a half an hour of sleep..." She said, tiredness showing clearly in her voice.  
  
Karira gaped at her. "What were you doing till 3.00 a.m. then!?" she exclaimed, her eyes in complete shock.  
  
Kagome straightened immediately... she couldn't tell them what she really had been doing, of course not – so she settled for the most reasonable excuse she could think of. "They were showing Titanic on TV – and you know how big of a fan I am of that movie... I ended up staying up till three o clock watching it... I fell asleep after that... and then you woke me up a while later."  
  
Karira stared at her if she was stupid. "You should've told me!"  
  
Kagome shrugged. "There's no point of it now."  
  
Karira sighed. "Oh well, anyway – I was wondering if you could quickly help Inu-Yasha gather the things he _really_ needs and just place them in a pile so he knows what he should move to his new room, because I have to go for a photo shoot in one hour...and I won't be able to... please?"  
  
Kagome stared blankly at her and would've laughed if she wasn't feeling so tired and worn out. "No."  
  
"I don't need her help." Inu-Yasha said rudely and glared at Kagome who was currently avoiding her gaze.  
  
Karira sighed. "No – Inu-Yasha, you're dumb – and you won't be able to find the most important of things if it cost you your life, so Kagome – I don't care, but please – for his sake, please help him, it'll only take a second or so...?"  
  
Kagome sighed, shrugged mindlessly, and then yawned. "I don't get paid to do this – but fine."  
  
Karira smiled happily and then jogged merrily out of the room as both Inu- Yasha and Kagome glared at her back.  
  
Kagome felt her nerves tense immensely as Karira closed the door behind them, leaving them alone in the room, increasing the tension between them immediately.  
  
Kagome walked towards the bed shelf, ignoring Inu-Yasha and opened it, looking for anything he should take when he moved to his new room. She was about to close it as she saw nothing that important when Inu-Yasha gave out a shout.  
  
"My cigarettes are in there!" he said out and glared at her for a second before he went back to whatever he was doing.  
  
"...so?"  
  
He glared at her. "I need them!"  
  
She glared back. "But-."  
  
"I need them!"  
  
Kagome growled in frustration and opened the drawer, taking out the packs and throwing them onto the bed. "You're disgusting." She muttered out to Inu-Yasha, and even though she said it under her breath, he heard.  
  
"At least I don't go around writing things on people's walls." He replied and then walked around the bed to reach his window frames which held a couple of things.  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes and tried to control her temper. "Well I don't go to the playboy mansion, bring me friends out into the public, and say nasty things about you and your family or about my mother!" she yelled out, losing her control midway through her sentence.  
  
He froze and smashed the glass he was holding onto on the wall. Growling, he turned around and headed for Kagome who had forgotten about her grumpiness due to her lack of sleep and was now full aware of the danger she could get herself into.  
  
As Inu-Yasha reached Kagome, he pushed her vigorously to the wall and put his arms on either side of her, trapping her in the small space between them.  
  
"Listen bitch..." he started of and narrowed his eyes, glaring at her furiously.  
  
Kagome held her breath as she saw a spark of red flash for a millisecond in Inu-Yasha's eyes... she could tell... he was mad... real mad...  
  
"You don't go around ruining my reputation-."  
  
"Oh, shouldn't you be telling yourself that?!" Kagome snapped out to him, feeling her anger glaze as she registered what he had said into her mind.  
  
Inu-Yasha felt as if someone had grabbed his throat and squeezed hard because at that moment – his breath had stopped midway through his throat.  
  
He knew what she meant by that.  
  
And she bloody hell knew what she meant by that as well.  
  
Kagome felt her lungs burn and she took a shallow breath as she noticed that she had stopped breathing a while ago. Her heart was pounding painfully against her heart, and what was worse – was that she knew he knew she was scared.  
  
Inu-Yasha gripped her arms painfully and closed a few inches of the gap between them.  
  
Kagome felt her stomach rattle with queasiness and her breath hitch in her throat once again – he was too darn close to her... to close for comfort – shit...Kagome winced as she felt him tighten his grip on her arms and roughen his threatening glare. Not giving up, she glared back, though the intense stare was nearly blinding due to the close proximity of them both.  
  
His nose was practically touching hers and Kagome felt her guts squirm with nervousness... her mind was yelling out different things, and Kagome who was finding it hard to stand wasn't registering anything at all.  
  
Kagome gulped as she heard a growl deep in Inu-Yasha's chest and her mind wondered how long they could last without blinking and continue to glare at each other.  
  
It seemed like an hour, but it being only a mere minute – Inu-Yasha spoke. "You're still scared." He said and Kagome felt her body rage with different emotions – though pain and anger being the main ones.  
  
What did he mean by that? He could possibly think that she would feel calm and confident around him...? Not after what he had done... not after what he done to her... not now... not ever... not again.  
  
Kagome growled with anger and pushed him off of her, and much to her pleasure, he didn't protest.  
  
She glared at him. "I... hate you!" she said before rushing out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her.  
  
Kagome felt her dampened moon dampen as she heard Inu-Yasha yell out a comeback.  
  
"Well, it isn't like I love you anyway!"  
  
Kagome stopped and turned around, opening his door she yelled out clearly to him. "Don't worry, I never thought so!"  
  
"Well, it's just like you to daydream, so it was a passing thought!" He said and laughed to himself as Kagome slammed his door shut, muttering something about 'Boys and their hormones.'  
  
He shook his head and then picked up the phone... he wasn't done with her yet – and even though he felt a pang of guilt when he had sensed nothing but fear evading her for him, he wasn't going to let her off easily.  
  
Picking up the phone, he dialed room service.  
  
"Uh... yeah – could you send a cup of contaminated water to Miss Higurashi's room? – Yes, I said contaminated water – no – I don't want poison in the water- just dirt so it tastes bad and stuff...no – don't tell her its from me... oh shut up with the questions!" he said and then sighed as he placed the phone back onto the receiver.  
  
He smirked... that's what he wanted – an ill Kagome.  
  
.......................................................  
  
Kagome yawned as she walked clumsily back into her room, it feeling like ages since she last placed her head on the pillow. Smiling she walked over to it and was about to climb onto her bed when someone rang her doorbell.  
  
She cussed out loud... she was ready to kill someone right now... what was up with the world against her and sleep?  
  
Walking back to the door, she opened it and glared at the waiter standing in front of her with what seemed to be a cup of water in his hands.  
  
"What?" She said rudely and stared at the waiter.  
  
"Oh... here's some water." The waiter said and handed the cup to Kagome who just stared at it.  
  
"You're all crazy..." she said before shutting the door and walking back to her bed. She yawned before gulping down the water, then immediately making a face after she had done so.  
  
"Oh god... what was in this water?" She said and stared at the mug. The question however, was washed away completely as she fell her legs start to wobble with much needed sleep.  
  
Shrugging off the question, she walked over to her bed, and climbed in – falling asleep immediately.  
  
........................................  
  
**There... I'm done – I don't consider this short. It's pretty long in my case... but if its short – ah... I'm screwed – its 2.14 a.m. over where I am right now –and that's the kind of chapter you get when I'm all tired and sleepy. Yawns  
  
Anyway – I wonder what you get when a tired Kagome drinks contaminated water?  
  
Can anyone guess? . (there's a special name for it... unfortunately, I got it once, and I was sick in bed for two weeks...)**


	5. Malady Disorder

**Wow – out of all the people who reviewed, none of them guessed what sickness she might receive!  
  
Oh well...  
  
Once again, thanks to all of the reviews and the reviwers! You guys have no idea how much you help me to write on!  
  
..................  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Malady Disorder  
  
..................**  
  
It was around 4.00 p.m. when Kagome finally felt the strength to sustain another day, wake up to the chattering birds, and have a nice break – "HOLY CRAP – IT'S FOUR-O-CLOCK!"  
  
Kagome smacked her forehead and looked around the room with astonishment, "Talk about sleeping in..." she said and looked down at her lap, suddenly noticing something, "Damn... my back hurts!" she said between yawns.  
  
Having a good mind that her back only hurt because she may have slept on the wrong side of the bed, she dolefully stepped out of her bed and into her fuzzy cat head shaped slippers. As she took a few steps to the bathroom, she noticed not only did her back hurt, but her stomach didn't feel so good either...  
  
Shrugging and scratching her tummy as she entered the bathroom, she smiled at herself as she looked at the mirror. "Damn I look hot..." she said and laughed at her own words. Picking up the tooth paste and squeezing it on to her tooth brush, she started to brush her teeth, and surprisingly – her stomach reacted to the taste.  
  
Kagome spat out the toothpaste and threw her toothbrush on the counter as her stomach gave a horrible lurch. Wincing as direct pain came right afterwards, she grabbed the counter and doubled over the tap in need to vomit.  
  
Just as she thought whatever food she had swallowed was about to come out, she took in a deep breath as all the pain in her stomach vanished in a second. Staring at herself in the mirror, she hesitated as she thought about what had happened. "They have...seriously weird toothpaste here..." she said and simply rinsed her mouth, not daring to try the toothpaste again.  
  
Ignoring her aching back, she continued on with her daily morning routine, and after she had done all which was needed to do in the bathroom, she walked outside and changed into the clothes she had brought with her to the Villa. : A simple black t-shirt and white Capri's.  
  
Looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but notice she looked a little pale. Shrugging off and blaming the paleness on lack of sleep she tied her hair into a high ponytails and slipped into her slippers, ready to go out and have... breakfast.  
  
As she stepped out of the door, she shivered and noticed that they had definitely turned on the air conditioning today. "Um – excuse me?" she asked a passing stranger as a question popped in her mind.  
  
"Yeah?" He asked and looked at her and much to Kagome's displeasure... it was Miroku.  
  
"Sorry to bother you again, but may I ask you where Karira is?" Kagome asked, knowing that Karira may still be at her photo shoot.  
  
Miroku smirked at her, a little amused by her sensible manner of speaking. "Yeah – she's eating lunch downstairs."  
  
Kagome nodded, and started to head down the steps, her body somehow feeling heaver than they ever did on her legs. As she reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, she was about to walk to the dining room, when she saw the dining room doors open and Karira walked out.  
  
"Hey Kagome, you're finally awake!" She said and ran up to Kagome offered a smile in return.  
  
"Yeah... so – would you like to give me a tour around the new and improved villa?" Kagome asked and laughed at Karira's baffled expression. "I know... I'm skipping breakfast – but I really don't feel like eating..." She said and made a face as she felt her stomach lurch at the thought of food... jeez – what was up with her today?  
  
Karira raised an eyebrow at Kagome. "Well... if you insist, but sure, come with me – I'll start by showing you our new ball room." Karira said and pulled Kagome away from the staircase and right to a large crescent shaped door.  
  
Kagome nodded and watched as Karira opened the half of a moon shaped door and stepped in. Following her lead, Kagome walked in and gasped as she saw the ball room.  
  
"Wow... talk about change!" Kagome said and looked around. It was much more impressive than it had been before, the tiles looked spotless – a small bar was placed in the north west side of the room, the chandelier was humungous – hanging from one side of the ceiling, straight to the other. The windows had been modified, now instead of large casual rectangle shaped windows, they were instead – large star shaped windows, which fitted the room perfectly.  
  
Kagome smiled in wonder as Karira led Kagome out of the ball room out from another door and led her into a dark passageway which had luscious red carpeting. "This leads to the theater!" Karira yelled out at Kagome from affront.  
  
Kagome nodded and followed her into a room with a humungous large screen and dozens of seats. "Wow..." Kagome breathed out as Karira laughed at her expression and simply walked straight across the room to a door on the other side.  
  
Kagome ran up to catch up to her, and waited for her to open the door, wondering what could be behind it. As Karira opened the door, Kagome walked out of the theater room simply and looked around. They were outside now, the garden being right beside them – however, a pathway in front of them.  
  
Karira led Kagome down the pathway, stopping here and then showing Kagome which trail led to the library, studio and beach. As they came to a small café sort of store, Karira turned a corner and stopped at a lift.  
  
"Here... I'll show you the two new floors we built!" she said merrily, and to Kagome's secret pleasure – she was thankful for the fact she would use an elevator instead of the stairs... god how her back and legs for killing her right now.  
  
As they got in the elevator, Karira pressed 5th button and both relaxed in wait for the elevator to stop.  
  
Kagome sighed and leaned against the mirrored walling behind her. So they had also installed elevators into their villa? Well... that was great. As she went up, she peered outside as she saw the floor her room was... then the floor Sesshomaru's and Karira's room was... then the floor Inu-Yasha's room _had_ been... and then the new floor which she hadn't ever seen before.  
  
As they walked outside, Karira smiled brightly as she looked around. "I won't say much, but this is the... relaxing floor."  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "...um, relaxing floor?"  
  
Karira laughed. "I know, it sounds really dumb – but, you see... on this floor, all we do is play games in the game rooms, or get a massage, or do Yoga, Pilates, just relax and eat some fresh fruit or so... you know... have fun!"  
  
Kagome smiled at Karira... god... in her home back at the Shrine, the only 'relaxing' floor they had was the attic where no one would usually go to and all they would do is sit there... in the dust...sneeze and of course look at all the antiques they had stored up there.  
  
"Well, let me show you the 6th floor and the new and improved roof!" Karira said and led Kagome back into the elevator. As they reached the 6th floor, Kagome gasped as she saw nothing but... railings and railings of clothes.  
  
Leading Kagome out with a bigger smile – Karira squealed and widened her arms and did a twirl in the room. "This is our clothes floor!"  
  
"What the..." Kagome said and looked around, it didn't seem like a floor – it seemed like a mall, and what was better was that it seemed like a mall with completely free clothes.  
  
"Yeah, we need to wear new clothes every day... so our mom bought us hundreds of outfits, and we needed a place to put them – so, well... here you go!" Karira said and pulled Kagome into the 'mini mall' as Kagome would call it.  
  
"Oh my goodness... these clothes are awesome!" Kagome said and gaped in wonder as she saw dresses and gowns which were probably worth a million stored here.  
  
Karira nodded. "And you know the D.A.H.A Awards coming up this year?" Karira asked Kagome who was currently eyeing a blue shirt with the words "Star" writing in diamonds.  
  
"The Demon and Human Awards?" Kagome asked half heartedly as she rushed over to another railing as she saw the most awesome looking heels.  
  
"Yeah... this is what I'm wearing to them!" Karira said and pulled out a pink knee high dress. It was made out of silk, and had pink diamonds embedded on the spaghetti straps. The waist was encircled with a darker shade of pink and a cute red bow was tied on the side with two long ribbons gown down to the ankle. "It's great eh?"  
  
"It's wonderful!" Kagome said and flinched when a sudden though sharp headache suddenly embraced her head, however – Karira didn't notice as she turned around to put the dress back on its railing and then, as she turned around she smiled again.  
  
"It would be great if you could come with us this year!" She said and then led Kagome who was trying to overcome a wave of dizziness back to the elevator.  
  
"Nah... don't let your hopes up, unless I suddenly become known throughout the whole world despite the fact I live in a shrine and suddenly become V.I.P then I won't be going." She said and sighed as she went back in the elevator as it started to go up to the roof.  
  
Karira laughed just like her normal cheery self and then shook her head. "It may just happen..."  
  
Kagome shook her head slowly as she watched the 6th floor disappear and the roof appear in front of her. "Think whatever you want to think!" she said and smiled when she looked outside.  
  
The roof seemed completely peaceful and Kagome smiled in astonishment as she pictured this as the perfect spot to hang out. The sun was shining brightly down at the roof, however – the perfect place to cool down was the large pool right in the middle of the large roof.  
  
Two vending machines were set right in front of the pool – tables to sit and beach chairs were placed alongside the pool as well. There was a large umbrella off to the side if anyone wanted to hide from the sun and a circular cushioned sofa directly behind the pool for people who wanted to lie down on something soft.  
  
"I love this place!" Kagome said and walked up to the pool which was crystal clear. "The improvements to the villa are absolutely gorgeous and great!"  
  
"Yeah... oh shoot!" Karira said as she glanced at her watch.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"It's dinner time!" She said and headed quickly for the elevator. "Mother wont be pleased if were late!" she said and held the elevator door for Kagome to quickly enter.  
  
"Time sure passed by quickly!" Kagome said and rushed in the elevator and held onto the wall as a wave of dizziness passed over her. Closing her eyes to regain her stability, she cussed silently to herself as the headache got worse... it felt like all the blood was throbbing in her head and it only made the back pain and the leg pain feel worse.  
  
It took them a few minutes to finally reach the first floor, and unfortunately for Kagome who seemed like she was going to suddenly have a mood swing and burst into tears – they had to walk all the way back to the entrance.  
  
Kagome who had finally gave into the thought that something may actually be wrong with her, and it wasn't because she woke up on the wrong side of the bed, swaggered into the dining room, where surprisingly – Inu-Yasha was eating as well.  
  
As she reached the table – she received attention from all of the members of the Taisho's who were eyeing her worriedly... well, everyone except for Inu-Yasha who was smirking mischievously.  
  
"Kagome dear, your reeking with the scent of illness, are you okay dear?" Mrs. Taisho asked with complete curiosity.  
  
Kagome glanced at Mrs. Taisho and then raised her hand to her throbbing head, shutting her eyes in dizziness at the process. "You... know – for the...first time today... I think I may actually... be... ill." Kagome said and fainted on the floor unconsciously as pain subdued her body.  
  
...............................................  
  
"Did she die?"  
  
"No stupid, she just fainted!"  
  
"Jeez Inu-Yasha, when did you become the family doctor?"  
  
"Since now squirt!"  
  
"Mom, Inu-Yasha's calling me a squirt again!"  
  
"Inu-Yasha, don't call your little sister a squirt."  
  
"Yeah Inu-Yasha, don't call your little sister squirt."  
  
"Sesshomaru, you sound pathetic so shut up!"  
  
"Children, can we focus on Kagome and not on fighting with each other?"  
  
"Yeah Karira..."  
  
"Sesshomaru, I didn't do anything!"  
  
"Right..."  
  
"Mom, I think Sesshomaru's on drugs!"  
  
Kagome groaned as she fluttered her eyes open, her mind still swirling with funny images and swirls, and ignoring the migraine in her head, she looked up and noticed five heads leaning down and staring at her face. "What's going on...?"  
  
Mrs. Taisho let out a sigh of relief and then leaned back, pushing back the other four heads out of the way so she could sit Kagome up and get a word out of her. "What did you eat since morning?"  
  
Kagome struggled to remember as Mr. Taisho forced a cup of water in her hands which she just stared at sullenly. "...nothing?"  
  
Karira widened her eyes and looked back at her two brothers who were just watching simply in great astonishment.  
  
"Nothing?" Mrs. Taisho repeated.  
  
"Not that I can remember..." Kagome replied and then looked around, just noticing she was back in her bedroom and on her bed.  
  
"Someone go phone the kitchens and tell them to bring a bowl of porridge for Kagome!" Mrs. Taisho said and looked around, waiting impatiently for someone to fulfill her order.  
  
Karira nodded immediately and went to Kagome's shelf to pick up the phone. In a matter of minutes, a bowl of porridge was in Mrs. Taisho's hands who were forcing a resisting Kagome to take a spoon.  
  
"I really...really... really don't feel like eating anything!" Kagome said and felt her stomach lurch at the thought of that spoon of porridge in her mouth.  
  
"Nonsense, you haven't eaten anything since you woke up, no food is never good!" Mrs. Taisho replied and four bemused Taisho's watched in amusement as Mrs. Taisho forced Kagome's mouth open and stuffed a spoon of porridge in her mouth just like a mother would do to an annoying child.  
  
Kagome groaned silently as she swallowed the porridge, her stomach reacting instantly to the food, however – she didn't vomit, actually, she didn't have the chance as Mrs. Taisho forced another spoon of porridge in her mouth.  
  
Inu-Yasha snickered as he watched the antic. Could it be possible that she was this ill just because of the contaminated water he had sent her? Shrugging off the fact that it may actually be because of him, he continued watching Kagome as her face contorted with disgust as Mrs. Taisho forced several amounts of porridge into her mouth.  
  
Just as Mrs. Taisho had stuffed the last spoon of porridge into her mouth, Kagome clenched her mouth shut and swallowed whatever food may be left in her mouth in order to stop the horrible belching feel.  
  
Karira took a deep breath. "So, Kagome do you feel okay now?"  
  
Kagome shook her head immediately and forced Mrs. Taisho and was about to rush over to the washroom but it was already too late, leaning down – she vomited on the carpet, all the porridge she had currently ate, coming all the way back out.  
  
Karira stared in disgust and shock. "I guess that's a no."  
  
Sesshomaru handed a napkin immediately to Kagome who leaned back up with a tiresome expression laid across her face. Kagome took the napkin and wiped her mouth, "I think I'm going to puke again..." She said and before she could say anything else, Mr. Taisho had grabbed Kagome and had rushed her to the bathroom.  
  
As he closed the door behind her, he went back into the room and stared at the worried four... actually, the worried three – as Inu-Yasha just stared with boredom at the whole ordeal.  
  
"She's vomiting out water." He said and sighed as he looked at his family members.  
  
"I think we should call the doctor." Karira advised, worried tremendously about her sick friend.  
  
"...and we have to renew the carpet." Sesshomaru pointed out, remembering the vomit which still lay beside the bed, ruining the bedroom carpet.  
  
"Can I go now?" Inu-Yasha asked simply as all stayed in silence, waiting for Kagome to return back to the bed.  
  
"No." came four synchronized voices and Inu-Yasha groaned in protest, sitting down on Kagome's bed for a short rest. As he leaned down on Kagome's pillow to sniff, his face contorted in disgust as he smelt something horrid drenched with Kagome's usual smell.  
  
It had taken fifteen minutes or so for the paramedics to come, and Kagome, who had vomited three times already, was on the verge of fainting again due to her massive back, and head pain.  
  
As the doctor sat beside Kagome, he did the usual routine; checking for high temperature, sore throat and the many things for a usual check up.  
  
"Now could you raise your shirt so I can check your heartbeat." He said and took out his stethoscope much to Kagome's displeasure. It was bad enough getting ill when you're supposedly on a vacation, what was worse was that she was in the company of five men, including her brother which had just come to check what was going on with her sister, and was even worse than that the doctor, which was also a male was telling her to pull up her shirt.  
  
As she pulled up her shirt, she shivered as the cold plate of the stethoscope touched her skin. As he listened intensely to her heartbeat, he raised an eyebrow when he pulled back. "I'll have to take a blood test... I don't see any symptoms for anything specific so far, though the vomiting and pains do seem to be pointing to one thing in specific, but I'll have to be sure...!" He said cheerily and Kagome widened her eyes in horror... oh god, she hated needles!  
  
"But -." She protested but was cut off by the doctor.  
  
"Show some girl power!" He said and smiled at her warmly.  
  
Kagome gave a quick glance to Karira who was the holding the urge to burst up in laughter... shrugging, she looked back the doctor who had pulled out a sharp and long needle – much to her displeasure.  
  
Holding onto the Karira's hand as he inserted the pointy needle into her veins in her left arm, she winced as she felt her blood pulse into the container on the needle. "Ow. Ow. Ow!" She said and bit her bottom lip at the horrid feel of the needle in her arm.  
  
"Don't worry honey, it's over, you'll feel so proud of yourself when we're all done with you!" The doctor said and pulled out the needle, giving a pat on Kagome's shoulder.  
  
Kagome stared at him meekly. Was this doctor homosexual or what?  
  
Apparently, she wasn't the only one who had noticed as at that moment, Inu- Yasha burst into laughter, doubling over as he held onto his stomach for support. Not soon after, Karira had ended up laughing as well, only leaving Kagome in a desperate attempt not to join in.  
  
"Is there anything I'm missing?" The doctor said as he eyed the two siblings who were laughing as if they had watched the funniest thing on TV.  
  
"Don't mind them, hurry up and get the results!" Mrs. Taisho said in her motherly way, waving her hands in front of his face to get his attention in a desperate attempt to make him hurry up.  
  
The doctor shrugged and leaned over the table he had set up; doing the handy work he had needed to do to get the results.  
  
Shaking her head, Kagome grinned at Karira and Inu-Yasha, despite her paling figure. "Jeez... did you have to be so rude?" She asked them as they still shook from laughter.  
  
"Sorry Kagome, but you know..." Karira stopped as she hushed her voice; however Inu-Yasha continued her sentence.  
  
"...he's gay! I mean what was 'you'll be so proud of yourself when this is over' about? You're a teenager for god's sake!" He said, laughing as he finished the sentence.  
  
The three burst up in laughter again, neither one of them noticing that Inu- Yasha and Kagome had finally gotten along, even if it had been for one measly second – the two actually saying something to each other which wasn't in fact an insult was surprising in any matter.  
  
Just as Kagome and Inu-Yasha had settled down and realized their 'mistake' as they would've called it, everything was soon washed away from their minds as the doctor coughed to regain their attention.  
  
"I'm sorry... but this is bad news..." he said and looked at Kagome with a sorrow full face. Putting a hand to her knee, he sighed.  
  
"Am... am I dying?" Kagome asked immediately, hoping to god that it wasn't what she thought it was.  
  
The room stood in silence as the doctor stared at her with the freakiest face anyone could've ever imagined. Then, when no one expected it, he exploded into laughter. "Dying –." He shook his head as he laughed. "Ha! NO way! That is... hilarious..." he laughed loudly, not noticing that no one was laughing along with him.  
  
Just as he noticed, he looked around in apology and muttered a 'sorry'. "No, it's not that serious, you've just got Typhoid. It doesn't come alone very often these days, seeing that the water business is going pretty good..."  
  
"What do you mean the water business?" Mr. Taisho asked and Kagome nodded along with in wonder.  
  
"Well sweeties, you only get Typhoid by drinking contaminated water." He said and rubbed his hand along Kagome's thigh which she pulled back immediately as he did so.  
  
Inu-Yasha froze. Oh... so it was his fault that she was sick... looking away from Kagome so she didn't notice the sudden change in his mood, going from suddenly social to 'Stay-away-from-me-I-am-totally-horribly-mean-once- more'. He let out a sigh, oh well, it wasn't his fault... he might've sent the water to her, but he never told her to have a weak and tired stomach so it couldn't fight away a major illness and get Typhoid!  
  
So it wasn't his fault. Nope, not at all...  
  
"So she's vomiting because her stomachs been turned to mush, well... not literally, but it can't handle the food because it's been attacked with germs, well... like in star wars -."  
  
"Shut up and go on!" Mr. Taisho snapped at him, finally losing his nerve with his 'unusual' behavior.  
  
"Dad, you swore!" Inu-Yasha pointed out and Mr. Taisho growled in frustration.  
  
"One more word out of you Inu-Yasha and you're grounded." He said, silencing the room, allowing the doctor to continue.  
  
"Oh... sorry, right... well, it's better off if you don't feed her anything for the next two hours or so because she'll simply vomit it out, she's going to have to have another needle in her bummy wummy -." He winked at Kagome before going on. "- and the needle is going to help her stomach grow a little stronger so she can digest."  
  
"Is that it?" Mrs. Taisho asked, hoping the illness wasn't all too serious.  
  
The doctor laughed but stopped as he received several glares from the members of the room. "Um... no – well, you see... she should get a lot of rest, no candy – no junk food, she should eat a lot of vegetables, drink soup – don't give her something too cold or too hot. Her temperature will rise dramatically, maybe not today, but it may start from tomorrow, she may get a fever... see illusions, diarrhea will happen soon -." He gave another wink directed at Kagome who looked away immediately, blushing at the thought.  
  
"And about her temperature, when I say rising dramatically, I mean it may go up to 105 degrees, if it does – take no chances, rush her to the hospital bed, if it goes higher, she'll be on the verge of death." He coughed and smiled at Kagome, patting her knee in reassurance. "Don't worry baby, I'm sure you'll be alright!" he said and gave her a big and broad smile.  
  
Kagome nodded and chose to speak up. "Is that it?"  
  
He shook his head. "No," he then looked back at Mrs. Taisho. "Don't make her drain up too much energy, she'll just faint and don't ever give a lot of food at once, a small spoon at a time... but as time graduates, then you can give her more solids and maybe even some junk food, and someone must always be by her twenty four/seven – you don't know what may happen, and it's better to be safe than sorry!"  
  
"What about medicine?" Mr. Taisho asked as the doctor took out the needle to put in to Kagome's 'bummy wummy' also known as her 'ass'.  
  
"Oh, I'll give you the pills – one is for when ever she comes out of he toilet, another is for if she vomits, and two other ones for a daily basis made specially for Typhoid." He said and then poured in the medicine in the needle.  
  
"Can you turn around and lie down on your belly?" He asked gently and Kagome nodded, a little hesitant to the idea that she was going to have a needle put in her ass in front of five guys.  
  
"Wait doctor, don't put a needle in right now – Sesshomaru, Inu-Yasha – both of you turn around!" Mrs. Taisho said and gave a small smile to Kagome as she let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"But how come dad gets to watch?" Inu-Yasha asked stubbornly, receiving several glares from both Kagome and his dad.  
  
"Because I'm mature." He replied simply and was about to settle the matter with that simple sentence when Inu-Yasha fought back.  
  
"So am I!" Inu-Yasha replied, and yelped when Sesshomaru punched him in the head.  
  
"It's only Kagome's ass for god's sake!" Sesshomaru said and pulled Inu- Yasha's ears so he would finally turn around.  
  
Kagome perked up on his comment. "What do you mean it's only Kagome's ass?"  
  
Mrs. Taisho groaned as a fight picked up between the two siblings and Kagome, Karira joining in shortly.  
  
"Oh**_ shut up_**!" Mr. Taisho exclaimed as the fight soon progressed into yelling and shouting... his poor ears weren't up for this anymore.  
  
All four rivals shut their mouths immediately and stared at Mr. Taisho.  
  
"Dad... you swore." Sesshomaru pointed out and Mr. Taisho slapped his forehead with his hand as he groaned.  
  
"Oh god Pete's sake, you kids act as if you've never heard someone swear before!" he said and barged out of the room, ignoring their protesting stares.  
  
As Mr. Taisho slammed the door behind him, Kagome held in a giggle before hiding her face in her pillow. Much to Inu-Yasha's displeasure, Sesshomaru had gotten him into a headlock so he couldn't turn around and see what his mother had strictly told him not to.  
  
Kagome winced as she felt the needle go in. Two needles in one day... god, this was her worst vacation ever!  
  
"So when am I going to get better?" Kagome asked as he pulled out the needle and gave her a small pat on the back as she pulled up her pants.  
  
"In two weeks and when you do - call the doctor again to make sure you've revived completely!" he said simply and got up after packing up his needed accessories.  
  
Kagome stared with horrid desire as the doctor left the room, leaving her lying down on her back once again, feeling worse than ever. As he closed the door quietly behind him, Kagome groaned. "Great, I'm sick... and for two weeks too!"  
  
"Don't worry; one of us will always be in the room with you just like the doctor said, why don't we make a schedule?" Karira said and took out a piece of paper and pen from the drawer.  
  
"Karira, that's a great idea!" Mrs. Taisho said and took the paper her daughter was handing over to her. "So all of you are going to participate correct?"  
  
Kagome groaned silently as she felt her stomach start to hurt. Sliding down so she could lie down on her bed, she shut her eyes in an attempt to go to sleep... "I feel horrible..." she said, but her comment wasn't heard as Inu- Yasha was in a death to death fight with his mother.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, you'll have to spend time in here too!" Mrs. Taisho yelled out, her face set dead straight in a glare to her son which was telling him clearly to accept his duty or else.  
  
"But mom, I'm busy during the whole day!" he said for a counterattack, taking a step back as his mother seemed ready to kill.  
  
"You won't be busy during the night!" she replied and started to write his name down for every night of the two weeks.  
  
"Yes I will! I'm going to be club- I mean, I'm going to be sleeping over at my friends house!" He replied hurriedly and felt his guts quench as he almost blew his cover.  
  
"Inu-Yasha!" she yelled out and he growled silently as he knew by her glare that there was no way he was getting out of this.

"Screw you all! I hate you!" he said childishly and barged out, slamming the door behind him.  
  
"Damn!" He said as he ran down the steps and out the door so he could reach his car which was parked in the basement. That wasn't fair! He only wanted to make her sick so she wouldn't be able to hang around him anymore, but instead – he was going to spend more time with her than he would have if she wasn't sick.  
  
What had happened was simple: his plan had backfired. "I hate this!" He yelled as he turned a corner and ran down the steps in the backyard which led to the basement.  
  
Back in Kagome's room, Mrs. Taisho was pampering Kagome with big hugs and kisses, and both Sesshomaru and Karira sitting down beside Kagome's bed.  
  
"So I'm going to be with you for morning until 12.00 noon and then Sesshomaru's going to be with you until 6.00 p.m. and then my mom will stay with you until 10.00 p.m. Then Inu-Yasha will spend the night with you, does it sound okay to you?" Karira asked and then stuck the piece of paper on the wall.  
  
Kagome shook her head. "I don't want Inu-Yasha in my room." she whined and Mrs. Taisho hushed her up by placing the fluffed bed sheet covers up to her shoulders.  
  
"It's okay, you won't talk to each other, he's just going to come... and sleep right across from where you're sleeping, and he'll just stay to see if you're doing okay and if you're not, he's just going to call us – you won't have to talk to each other at all." Mrs. Taisho said warmly and Kagome gave in to the idea as guilt washed over her. Well, the best way she could repay Mrs. Taisho for her kindness was accepting Inu-Yasha help (even if he didn't want to offer it) and accept everything quietly for the rest of the two weeks.  
  
"Should we put the air conditioning down?" Sesshomaru asked as he noticed Kagome shiver in the in her bed.  
  
Kagome nodded. "Just a bit." She answered and then glanced at her little brother which had stood quietly throughout the whole process, almost making himself seem invisible to the crowd.  
  
"Kagome, you're going to be okay right?" He asked her cutely just a like a little sibling would.  
  
Kagome nodded and smiled at him but he simply smirked.  
  
"Okay then – I'm going to go play my game boy, bye!" Souta said and rushed out of the room.  
  
"So it's almost six so I guess I'll just stay with you until ten-o-clock." Mrs. Taisho said and waved her two siblings which had remained in the room goodbye.  
  
Kagome felt her guts twist as she glanced at the clock. Five hours until Inu-Yasha would arrive... five hours until complete horror.  
  
**..............................................  
  
There you go! I think that's the longest chapter I've written on this story!  
  
Yes, she got Typhoid... and now Inu-Yasha has to spend his nights with Kagome to make sure she's doing okay...  
  
Anyway .  
  
Chapters only come out faster if you review!!!  
  
So until next time, bye!**


	6. Deadly Discretions

  
  
**Hmm... just to answer some questions... I'm writing these chapters... in other words - the way Kagome's getting sick etc. by experience. Yes, I – Sarah, A.K.A Kealilah, have been attacked by the deadly disease Typhoid. It was horrible I tell you... no research involved, it's plain experience, and I had to spend two weeks of horror just like Kagome... is going to have to...  
  
And just to tell you, the plot will take start it's course during this chapter!!!  
  
..................  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Deadly Discretions  
  
..................**  
  
Kagome curled up into a ball as her stomach gave a jolt of pain. It had seemed to do a lot of that lately. Groaning as a stomach ache came on right after that, she held her stomach tightly as Mrs. Taisho sat beside her bed, typing furiously on her laptop.  
  
"Kagome, I was thinking of a family vacation – where do you think we should go?" she asked, ignoring the fact that Kagome's stomach was killing her right now.  
  
Kagome groaned and tossed her body onto her other side to stare at Mrs. Taisho. "... My _stomach_..." she said and groaned as the pain deepened.  
  
Mrs. Taisho glanced at her. "Oh don't worry... it'll get better..." she said and then returned to typing on her lap top.  
  
Kagome winced as the dull pain proceeded to her back again; it had seemed to go on and off continuously for the past four and half hours and it was bringing hell right to her bed due to the fact as soon she got some shut eye, a nightmare brought her back awake.  
  
"Can't I – _ouch_- have some pain killers?" she said and rubbed the back of her sore neck.  
  
"Just go to sleep..." Mrs. Taisho replied, too lost in the work to bother to listen what Kagome was really saying.  
  
Kagome gave up on asking for some and then just went back on trying to fall asleep. After taking five minutes on simply tossing and turning on her bed, she just grumbled before sitting up straight and simply stared at the blank TV screen.  
  
Mrs. Taisho glanced up from her lap top to stare at Kagome. "Oh I'm sorry, should I turn off the lights?" She said, not letting Kagome fill in a word and then got up from her chair to switch off the bright lights to invade the room in darkness.  
  
Kagome blinked in the darkness as she stumbled around the bed to turn on the lamp. As she turned it on, she sighed as it gave off a warm, orange-yellowish glow and then went back to sitting in her bed with boredom.  
  
Mrs. Taisho glanced at Kagome once again. "Honey, you should be trying to get some sleep..."  
  
"I already did... I've fallen asleep twice... I always get nightmares when I'm sick so I'm going to stay up for a while..." she said, ignoring the sick, belching feeling her body was giving her.  
  
"Okay, by the way, do you want some more pillows for your back?" she asked and Kagome sighed, nodding slowly before grabbing the TV remote. As Mrs. Taisho returned with pillows, she quickly placed them behind her back for comfort before switching the TV on to see what was going on around the world.  
  
As she flicked the channel to a news channel, a spark of interest sparked in her as she saw Sesshomaru's name on the headline.  
  
"Sesshomaru's on the news." She murmured out weakly to Mrs. Taisho as she saw a picture of him, with four sturdy bodyguards on either side of him on top of the headline.  
  
"I've learnt to miss pass such things." Mrs. Taisho said with a smile. "I remember my days of fame..."  
  
Kagome smiled weakly, rubbing her stomach as it grumbled and all the pain stopped at once, though remnants of the pain still remained. She shrugged as she flicked the TV off... it was rather boring; all they were talking about was some crazy gay guy after Sesshomaru...  
  
Looking at Mrs. Taisho, she remembered how the woman used to star in movies and model off new clothing lines from different companies. "You miss your old job?" she asked and glanced at the web page she was currently on, something about different private mansion vacation resorts....  
  
Mrs. Taisho shook her head with a little pull of her nose. "It was fun while it lasted, acting was my passion... and I loved my modeling business, in fact, that was where I met Inu- Taisho." She said with a small smile.  
  
"You mean your husband?" she asked and Mrs. Taisho nodded shortly.  
  
"Yeah, we were enemies at first, we hated each others guts! I hated the way he admired all the other models, but always ignored me when I walked on the catwalk... and I hated the way he used to show off when going on the big screen or made a flashy appearance on the movie awards... he was such a jerk."  
  
Kagome emitted a small chuckle, remembering her mother telling her that Mr. Taisho had been a famous actor. "What changed?"  
  
"Well, one day... he told me that he hated the way I wore such skimpy clothes sometimes when walking on the catwalk, believe me, he was blushing the color of strawberries when he told me that, and he always got furious when another man touched me... so I gave him a chance, and I didn't mind so much when he gloated when seeing he made the front cover of the "Star Weekly" magazine, so and so such... after that, we started to meet each other more often... and the next thing I knew, I was head over heels in love with him!"  
  
Kagome grinned at the slight pink color which had taken place of Mrs. Taisho cheeks. "That's the cutest story I've ever heard." Kagome said before wincing as the pain started to throb in her stomach once again.  
  
"Like I said before, I don't regret quitting my acting and modeling job, it's rather more glamorous staying at home and just helping Inu-Taisho with all the work required to keep us in shape." She said and then smiled as Kagome nodded silently.  
  
"So how'd the press and the world of glamour just leave you alone?" Kagome asked, the question nagging her mind.  
  
"Oh, it didn't... we still have people flashing camera's wherever we go, and we still have people interviewing, fans screaming, so and so... but I've gotten used to it, learned to ignore it... it pays off, believe me that." She said and smiled as she closed her lap top, sighing in content. "Anyway, when you get better, I've found the perfect place to go and have a week's worth of vacation!"  
  
Kagome smiled at Mrs. Taisho's brightly broad smile. "It's a vacation for me being here already..." she said but Mrs. Taisho shook her head.  
  
"Oh no way, this is like a second home to you... and who likes being stuck in home for such a long time? Well, I've found a small yet luxurious mansion summer resort far off south from here, it's right in front of the beach, and quite far from the city... so we'll have peace, quiet, hopefully some privacy... and the sun and the sea! Then of course, we have to go back for the D.A.H.A..."  
  
Kagome smiled but it was washed away as she heard the clock strike ten. SHIT... where had the time flown off to? Contorting her face into an uneasy expression, she grumbled with discomfort as Mrs. Taisho clapped her hands as if closing a performance.  
  
"Alright, it's time for me to leave... take care sweetie, call me if you need any help!" she said and leaned down to give her a small kiss on the cheek.  
  
Leaving the room, she gave Kagome a small wave before closing the door behind her, leaving her alone in the dimly lit room. Kagome sighed as she rubbed her temples... oh god, she was getting nervous jitters already.  
  
It wasn't that she was nervous of seeing Inu-Yasha... of course not; he wasn't special to her in any way despite the fact he got a million dollars for every interview he gave... he had absolutely no effect on her what so ever.  
  
Apart from the fact, this time – she was nervous about getting in a fight.  
  
She was already in a horrible state... her stomach was killing her, her back had this awful throbbing pain... and she could sense a sore throat edging on. She hadn't vomited again... well; she hadn't eaten anything apart for the creamy milk and soft mush cookies Mrs. Taisho had given her so there really wasn't anything to vomit out.  
  
It wasn't that she didn't want to fight him; it was that she knew of the consequences... if she took too much pressure... she would end up fainting.  
  
Running her hands through her hair once before resting her back against the pillows again in a sitting position, she yawned before deciding she would try to go back to sleep.  
  
Snuggling back to into her bed, she shut her eyes in attempt to sleep again, just as she felt herself droop off to sleep, her door burst open, the handle slamming on the wall as the two solids collided with each other.  
  
Kagome opened her eyes and sat in her bed immediately as she looked at the door to see who it was. She rolled her eyes with frustration as she saw it was just Inu-Yasha. "Great way to make an entry..." she scoffed and lay back down on her bed.  
  
Inu-Yasha glared at her before barging into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Walking in, he gave Kagome another glare before settling himself in front of the bed, throwing down the roll out mattress he had in his hand.  
  
Kagome watched silently from where she was sleeping as he flattened out the mattress on the carpet and then flopped down on it, staring at the blank TV screen as he did so.  
  
Kagome just shrugged. In her point of view, this was going great, neither if them were talking... meaning, if they didn't talk, they wouldn't fight... meaning, fainting due to pressure was off of Kagome's schedule.  
  
"Where's the damn TV remote?" He muttered out, looking at Kagome for an answer.  
  
Without replying, Kagome picked up the remote and threw it at him, hoping it would hit his head... but instead, he caught it gracefully with his hand. Muttering something incoherent, he flicked the TV on and started to skim through the channels.  
  
Kagome narrowed her eyes at his head before flopping over to lie on her queasy stomach. Doing so, she yawned into the pillow as she drifted into the wavering lands of sleep.  
  
...Where her dream turned to a nightmare... and the nightmare turned into a piece of her horrid past.  
  
_Kagome squealed with surprise as his strong arms surrounded her waist and lifted her up into air, quickly swinging her so he could hold her bridal wise. Looking up to see who it was, she laughed happily before quickly wrapping her arms around his neck to pull herself closer.  
  
Leaning down so he could enlighten himself by her enchanting scent of new and fresh roses and a mix of daisy's, he nuzzled his nose into her neck, nipping her skin slightly. He purred with pure content as her presence overwhelmed him... she was his... and his only.  
  
Kagome giggled as he leaned back to kiss her.  
  
"You'll love me forever right?" he asked her as he drew in close to get what he wanted.  
  
"Forever Inu-Yasha."_  
  
Kagome yelled out mindlessly as woke up - sitting up straight in her bed as the memories came back to taunt her. Looking around snappily, she noticed she had been asleep for around four hours... still breathing heavily, and taking quick breaths, she looked around and noticed her lamp had been turned off.  
  
Raising her hand to her forehead, her chest still heaving in and out breathlessly, she wiped away sweat as she tried to regain her posture.  
  
Kagome screeched as someone slammed the 'On' switch for the lamp. Trying to see who it was through the sudden light, she cursed out inappropriate language as she noticed who it was.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you woman?!?" Inu-Yasha yelled out as he rubbed his eyes sleepily, giving Kagome the impression that he had fallen asleep.  
  
Kagome shook her head. "Like _you_ would care..." she said and then grabbed the cup of water on the bed stand. Gulping down the liquid, ignoring the fact that Inu-Yasha had no shirt on and was in a simple pair of boxers.  
  
"Did you see that gay doctor in your dreams or something?" he asked and tried to sound as gruff as possible as he tried to make the fact that he had surely gotten annoyed clear to Kagome.  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes. "No," she snapped out. "I had a nightmare, and it's completely none of your business so go back to whatever you were doing!"  
  
"My pleasure," he said and then walked back to his mattress where he flopped back down.  
  
Kagome shook her head before throwing the blanket off of her to get some needed air.  
  
"... Just to let you know, my girlfriends going to kill you when she finds out why I'm not at the club." Inu-Yasha told her with arrogance in her voice.  
  
"Oh, then I'll have at least twenty different women after me won't I?" she drawled at him, not liking the tone of his voice at all.  
  
"Oh shut up you bitch... I don't have twenty girlfriends!" he said and then gave Kagome a threatening glare.  
  
She scoffed. "And I don't hate you, oh come on... they sure are dumb that they don't know you've been cheating on them!"  
  
He stuck out his middle finger at her. "Screw you!"  
  
"Just go back to sleep, dumb ass!" she said and lay back down on the bed; however, going back to sleep was the last thing on Inu-Yasha's mind. Picking up the remote, he turned on the stereo- putting it on the highest volume possible.  
  
Kagome growled as music boomed into her room, the sound waves almost bursting her ear drums, getting back up, she yelled at Inu-Yasha to turn the music off, but the music overpowered her voice.  
  
Wincing as she felt subdue her stomach once again, and ignorant to the throbbing pain in her back, she got off the bed and ran towards Inu-Yasha. Reaching down, right beside his ear, she yelled. "TURN IT OFF YOU MUTT!"  
  
He yelped at her strong voice, flattening his ears immediately and completely fell towards the vacant side. Clutching the ear which she had completely screamed into, he growled as he got back up, standing so he could face Kagome, he clutched the remote tightly in his hands so she wouldn't grab it.  
  
"If I have to stay in YOUR room for TWO bloody weeks, then I get to do what I want to as well!" He yelled out furiously and matched Kagome's glare.  
  
"Have some decency, I'm SICK for god's sake, and you're turning on the stereo purposely so I don't get some sleep!!" She yelled out and tried to make a grab for the remote.  
  
Inu-Yasha, of course, pulled back his hand, making Kagome miss it. She growled in frustration as he grinned down evilly at her.  
  
"Come on... put on some headphones or something, but don't torture ME!" Kagome yelled out as she felt a migraine hit her head full speed.  
  
Inu-Yasha shook his head. "No way, wench!"  
  
However, fighting back with Inu-Yasha was completely washed away from her mind as she felt dizziness pound her head. The music was too loud... he was yelling at her... she wasn't supposed to get up and even raise the volume of her voice...  
  
Trying to take in some deep breaths, but they only ended up being chokes, she stumbled on the ground and raised a hand to her head.  
  
Inu-Yasha growled with half of frustration, half of surprise as he saw her stumble down to the ground, "Hey, don't faint on me!"  
  
Rolling his eyes as he noticed there was nothing he could do and she was pretty useless herself, he scooped her up in his arms before she could touch the ground.  
  
Throwing her back down onto the bed, he turned the music off before returning to the mattress in an equally horrendous mood. She was bringing hell back into his life and in this state, he couldn't do anything apart for throwing some sharp comments at her or else something would happen and he would end up being responsible.  
  
Screw her... she was ruining his life. He could've been enjoying the party which was being held at his favorite club.  
  
But no – he had to go to bed, like an obedient little boy as early as 10.00 p.m. to take care of some wench.  
  
Growling as he tried to push away the jealousy that came for some of his friends which were probably making a bash out of the party, he took his pillow and forced it down on his head.  
  
Half an hour later, Kagome opened her eyes lazily as she felt woozy pictures surround her mind. Just remembering what had happened, she shot open her eyes and looked around.  
  
Her room was bathed in darkness, and someone had turned off her lamp...again. Sighing as she simply flopped herself over so she could stare at the curtains which overshadowed the windows, she frowned as she remembered the memory which flashed back into her mind.  
  
_"You'll love me forever right?" he asked her as he drew in close to get what he wanted.  
  
"Forever Inu-Yasha."  
_  
She frustratingly shook that memory out of her mind... it was over, silently agreed never to be brought back up again... of course, that relationship hadn't lasted... not more than two weeks.  
  
Biting her lip as she felt anger and vengeance pour back into her emotions, she growled as she remembered what he had done... what he had done to her.... That lying scum... she would never trust him again.  
  
At least ... at least no one would figure it out...  
  
It took a dime store floozy and an alcoholic to know what had happened, but more than a genius to figure it out.  
  
..........................................** (A/N – think about that sentence up there... it means more than you think!) **  
  
Kagome groaned as she felt someone shake her shoulders roughly... just once – she had a nightmare free night... more like dreamless, but it would have been heaven to just sleep longer, but no... someone had the nerve to wake her up, even in her distressed state.  
  
"Kaagome!" someone yelled out playfully and turned her over so they could hit her stomach... which was a bad idea because it was hurting already.  
  
Opening her eyes, she sighed as she saw Karira desperately trying to wake her up. "Stop... my stomach... the pain!"  
  
Karira froze immediately and slowly raised her hands back to herself. "Ooh... I'm so sorry!" she whispered out and Inu-Yasha chuckled from behind from where he was rolling back his mattress.  
  
Kagome shook her head and then looked around. By considering the light blue shade in her room, she could tell it was just dusk and the dew was still on the plants and leaves outside. "What..." she yawned. "... Time is it?" she asked and then grumbled as she felt that her throat was aching.  
  
"EXACTLY six – o- clock... I can't wait, this is going to be sooo cool!" she said and then yelped as Kagome picked up a pillow and threw it at Karira's face.  
  
"I feel to horrible to even think..." she said and then for a second there, she could've sworn that she saw a glaze of concern flash through Inu-Yasha's eyes, but as she looked back again, it was replace by nothing but sheer rudeness, and whatever evilness it had before.  
  
"Ohmygosh!" Karira said and then ran around the bed to reach Kagome's other side. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Karira... you're going to bring the death of her with your abnormal hyper activities..." Inu-Yasha pointed out as he reached the bedroom door to exit.  
  
Karira stuck out her tongue. "You're going to bring the death of her with your egotistic blatantly!" she yelled out and then pouted as he left the room. Looking back at Kagome she frowned cutely. "I'm not really that hyper am I?"  
  
Kagome stared at her for a minute with possible answers, one which was. _'DUH YOU ARE'_ "...No, of course not!" she replied nonchalantly and then groaned as Karira squealed.  
  
"That's great, because I have so many things planned for the six hours we're going to be together... first of all, we're going to get you all cleaned up, JUST because your ill doesn't mean you cant look good... secondly, we're going to talk... girls HAVE to talk you know? And... then after that -."  
  
"Karira..." Kagome murmured and then looked at her squarely in the eye.  
  
"... um yeah?" she said confusedly.  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
..............................................  
  
It was around 9.30 a.m. when Sesshomaru barged into the room. Karira who was in the middle of brushing Kagome's hair, jumped slightly as he banged the door and panted and held the doorknob tightly.  
  
Karira shook her head. "Doesn't anymore ring doorbells anymore?" She said and sighed with frustration.  
  
Sesshomaru glanced at his younger sister. "Isn't it supposed to go like: Don't people knock anymore?"  
  
Karira shrugged. "We're living in a better technology..."  
  
Sesshomaru nodded, though both recipients of the room could tell he was still out of breath. "Ah- I see..." he said and then locked the door.  
  
"Sesshomaru let me guess... Rin's on your tail again?" Kagome asked and Karira laughed as Sesshomaru sent a worried look in their direction.  
  
"Yeah, and this time – I was holding the engagement ring... if she found out I was going to propose to her... I would have been -." He made a slitting motion across his neck.  
  
"Why would you die?" Karira asked as Sesshomaru jumped on the bed to see what they were doing.  
  
"Oh, she would hug me so tight that my lungs would burst for lack of air..." he said simply though sincerely and Kagome wondered if he was actually telling the truth.  
  
Karira was about to go back to brushing Kagome's hair when someone pounded on the door furiously, someone with so much sheer strength it possibly couldn't have been Rin. Karira sighed as she went back to brushing Kagome's hair. "Sesshomaru, just go back to sleep would you?"  
  
Sesshomaru glanced at them. "I can't go outside, Rin would spot me if I did..." he said and looked around jerkily as if were in some secret spy organization.  
  
"It's okay, just run for your life if she sees you... by the way, who's pounding on the door like that?" Kagome asked as she saw a crack form on the top of the door as the person continued on pounding.  
  
"Oh, it's Inu-Yasha – I told two of his girlfriends that he slept with you last night so they probably broke up with him... he's here to beat me shitless." Sesshomaru said simply with a small shrug. "So... I'm not really hiding from only Rin."  
  
Karira gasped. "Inu-Yasha has more than one girlfriend?!"  
  
Both Sesshomaru and Kagome turned to her as if she was a space alien from far, far off the planet.  
  
"Oh god... I can't believe you didn't know..." Sesshomaru said as another crack formed on the door.  
  
"Karira... he hid it from you all this time?" Kagome asked and both Sesshomaru and her burst up laughing.  
  
"SESSHOMARU – I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Inu-Yasha's voice came rambling in the room and Sesshomaru sighed as she started pounding on the door again.  
  
Karira looked at Sesshomaru. "You're my older brother, and sometimes I think that our ages got mixed up... go fight him like a real man, and don't hide in here!" She said while she put down the hair brush and got out of Kagome's bed. "I'm opening the door so get ready!"  
  
Sesshomaru growled as he crawled to the edge of the bed as Karira drew near to the door. "Come on Karira... I'll let you in on a little secret if you keep that door closed!" he said as Karira put a hand to the doorknob.  
  
"Okay, give me your best shot!" she said and crossed her arms across her chest.  
  
"... I love you?"  
  
Karira growled as she turned around and flew open the door. Just as she did, Inu-Yasha came running in, and before Kagome could process what was happening, Inu-Yasha had pounced on Sesshomaru like a mad man.  
  
"You bastard!" Inu-Yasha said as he wrestled with his big brother on the bed, making Kagome crawl back so neither of them would punch her.  
  
Sesshomaru growled and grabbed a fist of Inu-Yasha's hair, pulling him back. As he threw him down, he sent a fist into his stomach. "I just told them the truth!" He yelled out as Inu-Yasha bit his hand started to wrestle him, trying to twist his wrist in the process.  
  
Karira walked over to Kagome as she watched the fight.  
  
Sesshomaru had growled as Inu-Yasha scraped his arm, showing distinctively red marks, grabbing his collar, he kicked his stomach furiously while punching him in the guts with the other fist.  
  
"They fight so... brutally!" Kagome said and then glanced up at Karira who was watching the fight with keen interest.  
  
"Yeah... I know... AAH! Inu-Yasha punched Sesshomaru off of the bed!"  
  
"... and there he goes jumping on him again..."  
  
Kagome laughed as Sesshomaru tried pushing off his furious brother but only ended up punching him on the cheek, which made him even more furious.  
  
_"Fluffy!!"_ Rin's voice carried into the room, freezing them all in their tracks.  
  
"Not now Rin – I'm in a... AH, INU-YASHA, why'd u SCRATCH MY FACE?!"  
  
Rin shook her head. "Stop it you two, the police are here!"  
  
Everyone froze in the room, Inu-Yasha scrambling off Sesshomaru as the room elapsed in dead silence. Getting up, Sesshomaru clutched his scratched cheek, and Inu-Yasha stared harshly at Rin.  
  
"What do you mean by the police are here?" He asked her, concern lacing his voice.  
  
Rin didn't have any time to answer as Mrs. Taisho bustled in the room, closing the door behind her.  
  
"Oh dear, Inu-Yasha... brace yourself..." she said and gave him a stony stare.  
  
Inu-Yasha growled. "They told didn't they?!" He said, his eyes flickering red for a second.  
  
Sesshomaru hit the back of Inu-Yasha's head harshly. "You've got yourself dug into the dirt this time!"  
  
Karira, on the other hand was going ballistic, her mind at the edge of worry. "Mom... what's going on?" She asked, not leaving Kagome's side for a second.  
  
"Oh honey, it's nothing... don't worry..." She said, though her advice wasn't heeded by anybody as they could tell themselves that she was worried herself and it was definitely not nothing!  
  
It took only a minute for the door to open again and two sturdy police officers came in with, with Kouga following on behind.  
  
"There he is!" Kouga said nonchalantly, pointing bluntly to Inu-Yasha.  
  
The police officer nodded. "You're coming with us sir." He said and the other one walked over, grabbing his wrists to put into a handcuff, but Inu-Yasha didn't give in.  
  
Inu-Yasha growled pushing off the officer, "I didn't do any crap!"  
  
The police officer narrowed his eyes and went to grab Inu-Yasha again. "Scott, help me here..."  
  
It took a matter of minutes, but more officers had pounced on Inu-Yasha, the first one holding his head, pushing him down while the second one grabbed his wrists, twisting them from behind to put him into a pair of handcuffs.  
  
Mrs. Taisho, who was begging the police officers to let him go, was quiet downed by two other police officers who asked her politely to come with them. Sesshomaru growled as one of the other four officers which had arrived asked him to come with them; obviously, they were scared of the harm he might do.  
  
Karira who was watching with great worry, was on the verge of tears as she saw him push his older brother, Inu-Yasha out of the room – who was very red in the face as they forced his head down in a tight head lock so he wouldn't fight back and had his arms twisted from behind.  
  
Mrs. Taisho who was trying to hold back worried tears, was pushed out of the room surrounded by police and was soon followed by a gruff looking Sesshomaru.  
  
"What's going on!?" Karira asked but her question was brushed aside as two police officers came to Kagome, pulling her out of bed.  
  
"Any bystanders must be questioned." He said bluntly, pulling Kagome who was resisting greatly.  
  
"Excuse me, she's ill – she can't leave her bed!" Rin accused and pushed the officer back, as Kagome stumbled in his tight hold.  
  
"We'll take her in the ambulance but she must come!" He pulled Kagome tightly out of Rin's grasp, and pulled Kagome with a tight grip who was sustaining the urge to vomit as the commotion was causing her great dizziness.  
  
"SOMEONE tell me why my brother just got arrested!!" Karira yelled as one sturdy police officer came behind her, grabbing her arms, twisting them behind her back so she wouldn't fight as they led her out the door.  
  
Rin sighed and shook her head as she was led out alongside a worried Karira and a very dizzy Kagome, it was best if she knew...  
  
"Karira, you're brother, Inu-Yasha – he got arrested for possession and distribution of marijuana."  
  
**..........................................................................  
  
There you go!  
  
Surprised?  
  
You should be!!**


	7. Dog V Cat

**Alright, before I start with the chapter, I just have a few little things to say. First of all, yes, to the dozens and dozens of people questioning me, I _have_ read 'Dead Famous'. However, even if it may seem to you that my fan fiction, and her fan fiction are similar in any way you see, I really don't think that they are. I mean, sure, we both have the, "normal school girl somehow meeting up with a super star" theme... but my plot and the direction of where this is going is in no way possible to have relationship with the plot of "Dead Famous". Secondly, the character "Karira" has nothing to do in tact with "Kilala", also known as the fire demon cat in the anime "Inu-Yasha". Some of you may have been getting confused by that but "Karira" isn't based upon the anime cat, she's completely unique and has her own whatsoever personalities. **

**Great, now I have that out of the way, I just really, really want to thank all you wonderful readers and reviewers, and I couldn't go on without you! **

**Before I start, many confusions of the chapter name – its easy said and put – dog V. cat – Inu-Yasha V. Kagome. **

**Now enough of my blabbering, along with the story!**

..................

**Chapter Seven**

**Dog V Cat**

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Kagome couldn't concentrate, more likely, she couldn't even understand what was happening around her... everything was swirling around her in fast motion, and she couldn't even keep her posture straight. She kept slacking in the police mans grip, and soon enough, he had grown sick and tired of her jerking to a stop in the middle of the track and had just swept her off the ground and was now holding her in his arms, where he was heading towards the gates where the police cars were waiting.

Of course, just as the exited - camera's were flashing like crazy, and luckily, Kagome's head was hidden as it was buried in the police mans chest, making it impossible for the photographers to get a shot of who she was.

Kagome groaned as she felt people bury around her, asking her questions, shoving microphones at her head, gosh... how had so many people found out about the incident so quickly and arrived to capture the scene so equally fast?

Kagome took a peek at where Inu-Yasha was being led and felt a pang of pity for the Taisho's as camera's captured the whole scene... this was definitely going to be on the front page of the newspaper... hell... it was probably being shown live on TV right now!

She held in a breath as she was taken into the ambulance and was laid down on the roller trolley like bed. Looking in front of her, the last thing she saw was several people taking pictures of the ambulance before the doors were shut, blocking out everything in view.

Kagome groaned as she looked around her. No one she knew had come into the ambulance with her, and the only person she recognized was the police officer who had abducted her from her... comfy... lovely... cozy... rich and soft bed....

"What's going on?" she asked as she realized she had practically had been dozed off in some alternate universe for the past five minutes and hadn't heard a word anyone had uttered.

"Mister Inu-Yasha Taisho is under arrest." An officer said abruptly, and ignored the worried glaze which shot through Kagome's eyes for a mere second.

"Why?" She asked and tried to get up but was pushed down as the ambulance started its engine and started to ride down the road.

"For holding and selling illegal substances," Another officer snapped out and glared at his wrist where Inu-Yasha had bitten in the struggle to get him into handcuffs. "That son of a..."

Kagome burrowed her eyebrows and looked up at the shaking ceiling of the ambulance... Inu-Yasha taking drugs was reasonable... everyone knew that, well, everyone who knew Inu-Yasha closely knew that... but... selling drugs was just...

It just wasn't him.

Despite his, _'I'm so tough and I so don't need you around me, so screw yourself shitless!' _attitude, he never seemed like the one who would go so far in the black markets.

Replaying how Kouga had stormed into her room in her mind, she remembered the first day of her arrival and what Karira had told her...

"_Oh, you know – they've been blackmailing us since I was born... keep asking for more and more money, or else they'll tell the press this – or they'll tell the press that..." Karira shook her head. "...It's just stupid, they won't leave us alone."_

This must have been something Kouga's family had been blackmailing them about...

It had taken a mere ten minutes or so for the speeding ambulance to reach the police station, which was awfully humungous - twenty four stories high and as the ambulance pulled up at the gates to the front of the building, it stopped with a slight jerk, and Kagome sighed as the police officer took her by the wrist again to pull her out.

As she came into the lobby, she noticed that she was the last one who had arrived, and the rest of the attendants had already been taken up to whichever floor they needed to go on. As Kagome was being pulled towards a waiting elevator, she smiled weakly as she spotted a familiar face, quite a friendly one in fact.

"Hi -..." Kagome yelled out in hopes of preaching her old friend but was yanked in the elevator. "Uh, Bye Kikyo!"

Kikyou glanced at Kagome from the desk she was standing at and smiled as she waved just before the elevator door swung shut.

Kagome staggered in frustration as she felt the elevator move upwards. She had just met Inu-Yasha's old time lawyer, Kikyo, and just when she was about to say "Hi"... the police officer had pulled her in, crushing her attempt. This was definitely not her day!

Her eyes were drooping shut and she bobbed her head down when the elevator door opened once again, and the officer pulled her out on the twelfth floor, snapping her out of her daze.

Walking out with a big sigh, she noticed that all participants of the sudden abduction were sitting silently on a long chair, and Inu-Yasha was the only one missing... though he was spotted throughout the glass on the other side of the long hall, showing him sitting on a black chair, being questioned stonily by another demon.

"Wow, these people get to business fast!" Kagome said out in extreme surprise, startling a dazed off Karira.

She smiled weakly and motioned Kagome to sit next to her, and Kagome was about to head off in their direction when the police officer tugged on her arm, leading her the other way. "Ah! Hey, wadda'ya-."

"You're going to sit in the medical ward." He said curtly and pushed her towards the direction where Inu-Yasha was being questioned. Just as she passed the glass which showed Inu-Yasha being gruffly questioned by a sturdy demon, she was pushed into a room right in front of it.

She groaned as he made her sit on a shocking white bed, "You know, I feel okay if I..." She stopped in mid sentence as a headache seared through her head. "I changed my mind, I'll just stay right here..." she said and lay down on the bed where she inhaled deeply.

Ugh.

She hated hospitals... well; this wasn't _exactly_ a hospital, but it was darn close to being one. Just the unique smell of the air was enough to scare her. She hated doctors, she hated check ups, she hated the utensils the doctors used, she hated the medicine, she hated the spotless, germfree beds and the spooky air conditioning they had in here. And most importantly, she hated the rooms... all so white, so plain, and so lifeless. It scared her to know so many people died in here, either being old of age, ill or being in some sort of accident.

She shuddered and washed away the thought immediately, the concept freaking her out.

She was staring at the ceiling when the door opened and Karira walked in. Looking up, she noticed that she had paled, and looked immensely worried. Taking a seat beside Kagome's bed, Karira sighed. "... Oh man, I have no idea what's going to happen with Inu-Yasha..."

Kagome waved her hand to push away the worry in attempt to lessen the intense atmosphere. "Oh don't worry, they'll probably put him on probation or something, I'm sure they won't throw him in jail!"

Karira widened her eyes. "I hadn't even thought of him going to jail! Oh god..."

Kagome mentally smacked her head_. So much for lessening the tense atmosphere_... "Oh, lighten up, its Inu-Yasha we're talking about – if the police officer tells him to go to court to say the least, he'll punch him till he takes back his word."

Karira sighed. "I don't know... at least this all isn't going on TV..."

Kagome looked at her. "How come?" 

"My dad paid thousands of dollars to reporters to keep their mouths shut, so we have it all covered... lets hope it stays that way."

Kagome nodded and then glanced at the door as she heard someone turn the doorknob. Looking curiously at the door as the same man who had previously been questioning Inu-Yasha entered in, she perked up in the bed and Karira turned around at once.

"Well..." He sighed and turned around for a mere second to glance at Inu-Yasha behind the glass. "He isn't answering one single question of mine..."

Karira grumbled something which sounded very much like 'dumbass' and then shook her head. Turning back to the inspector, Kagome raised an eyebrow. "So why exactly are you with us now?"

The inspector glanced at Kagome. "I was wondering if one of his friends could squeeze something out of him, would you like to try?"

Kagome panicked... be stuck in a room with an angry Inu-Yasha? No way! Even hell wouldn't be able to match up to the fight which would be in store for them if she went in!

Kagome shook her head. "I -."

"That's great!"

Kagome blinked, baffled by his cheery smile... what had she just done?!?! Looking up at him, she raised an eyebrow to his insecure cheeriness. "Excuse me?"

"Well, didn't you just volunteer? You must be his girlfriend... worried sick over him!" He said and gave her a wink.

Kagome widened her eyes, mortified with the accusing going on in the room, all of which was being directed at her. "No – you see, I was saying that I -."

"Would love to do the questioning for me? See... I can read minds..." he smiled at her and took her hand, pulling her out of her bed – must to her displeasure.

"No – you cannot read minds, I don't want to -." She started off but was cut off as he turned around and gave her the creepiest smile imaginable.

"Listen Miss, he won't hurt you, see – you know that glass over there showing Mister Inu-Yasha?" he asked her and waited for her to nod, which she did in a matter of time. "From the inside of the room, it seems like a mirror – so when your inside, it may seem you can't see us outside, but we can see you inside... get it?"

Kagome nodded simply, completely freaked out by the murderous smile he was waving off to her. "Yes... sir..."

"So if he even tries to scratch you, we will burst into that door and will lock him up." He looked at her with pushing eyes, waiting anxiously for her to go along with the plan. "So you ready?"

She shook her head. "Please, we have a really bad relationship..."

The inspector sighed and fixed his glasses. "You really want to give this up on all the people depending on you?" he asked and nudged towards the Taisho's who were waiting for her reply.

Kagome grumbled something which the doctor had to perk up to hear.

"What was that?" he asked and leaned in closer.

"...If you insist..." she grumbled again and rolled her eyes as the doctor smiled appreciatively and leaned back.

"Great, now go inside." He said and nudged her towards the door. "Ask him about the drugs and all." He said and pushed her to the door which led inside.

Kagome slumped her shoulders before turning the doorknob slowly. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped in, turning around slowing to close the door. Letting out the breath she had taken in, she bit her bottom lip as she swore she could feel Inu-Yasha glare burning holes in her back.

Turning around to face him, she put on a serious yet sophisticated face and walked over to Inu-Yasha, which looked quite pathetic, seeing as she stumbled in her path due to the fact she was still sick.

Sitting in the chair in front of the glaring Inu-Yasha, she looked around the dead white room and to the one long mirror which was placed right beside the door. _'I bet everyone is looking from the other side'. _Feeling stupid as she just sat and looked around the empty room while Inu-Yasha glared at her, she caved in as neither spoke a word. "Ugh! Fine... I'll talk!" she said and flinched with embarrassment as Inu-Yasha rose an eyebrow.

Kagome shook her head. "I mean... talk Inu-Yasha... talk..." she said and then mentally slapped herself... the sickness must've been getting to her head or otherwise, she wouldn't have been losing her touch so dramatically.

She shook her head again and then let out a deep breath. "Okay, I think I'm okay now..."

On the other side of the mirror, everyone, including the Taisho's, Rin, and the inspector were watching with baffled expressions plastered on their faces. "What the hell is she doing?" Mr. Taisho spoke up as Kagome suddenly slapped Inu-Yasha's thigh.

"Oh honey, she's doing her best, she's so sick right now – no wonder she's swooning in her chair..." Mrs. Taisho said nervously as Kagome almost lost her balance in her seat.

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow as Kagome swore out loud as she almost fell out of her chair. Looking at her with a stupefied expression, he was about to ask what the hell was wrong with her when she spoke up.

"No – no... I'm alright... it's just that I really want to lie down on a bed... but... I'm fine..." she stumbled out and then straightened her posture. "Alright, let's get to business..." she said and cleared her throat as she made sure she was feeling perfectly fine to talk. "What the hell is going on?" she asked and then looked Inu-Yasha straight in the eye.

"That's a great way to start a conversation..." Sesshomaru pointed out, sarcasm dripping in his tone as he looked from the glass.

Inu-Yasha however, narrowed his eyes. "Why should I tell you?"

Kagome held in an urge to slap him right there and then. "Because I've taken the time, to step out of my homey bed... and my cozy bedroom, to see what crap you were going through!" she growled with frustration. "And you don't even have that little of respect for me to even tell me what's going on?! Geez Inu-Yasha, I hate this place as much as you do, but as a matter of fact, neither of us are going anywhere until you spill the milk!"

Inu-Yasha shrugged and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling, ignoring Kagome completely. "Whatever wench."

"You bastard! You haven't used my name for the fourteen years of hell we've known each other, not even when -!"

"You aren't gonna' bring that up again!" he said and straightened his back as he noticed the danger he was playing with right now.

"I can bring it up whenever I want!" She said and stood up to relieve some of her stress, but only ended up sitting down again as her knees wobbled with insecurity.

"Listen bitch – Fine, I'll tell you, I have nothing to do with this crap, I didn't even sell one freaking petty little bag of Marijuana – I held it, for what? A minute or so? And Kouga ended up getting that same bag and you want to know how? My friends, they're drug dealers, they sold it to him... too bad that it was the same bag I held... I bet you everything I own that Kouga set it all up!" He yelled out, leaking every bit of information he had in him.

Kagome let out a growl of frustration and stood up, towering over him. "I can't believe how loyal you are to your scummy friends!"

Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyes and stood up, matching her glare, face to face. "I didn't want to rat on them okay?!"

"See what I mean!? It's as if you worship them! Like you're scared that they'll turn against you!" she yelled out, ignorant to the fact that she had gotten all the information she needed and that she could leave right now at any second.

Inu-Yasha growled, the low ruble starting in his chest. "I wouldn't care if the whole army was against me, and I don't worship them you slut!"

Kagome swore she felt her temperature raise a few notches, but ignoring the hot rays glowering off of her face, she fought back. "My name's not SLUT!"

"Well THAT'S WHAT I'VE THOUGHT OF YOU SINCE I MET YOU!"

Silence barricaded the room and Kagome bit back the tears which had rushed to her eyes at that instance. How dare he... she hadn't even done anything to him and _that's_ what he thought of her. Shaking her head and then matching his glare, she scrambled out a few words. "That explains a lot of things." And with that, she turned around and ran out of the room, wiping her face as tears fell hopelessly down her face.

Her word gave him a blow in the mind, confusing the audience who watched, but making complete sense to Inu-Yasha.

Inu-Yasha burrowed his eyebrows and looked away as he smelt tears gush down Kagome's face as she left the room. Fisting his hands, he silently cursed himself. It wasn't his fault that in the heat of moment words just happened to gush out of his mouth... nope... not at all. She was the one who had decided to come in anyway, so she was just bringing everything upon herself from the start.

He was thinking along the lines of if he should or shouldn't do something about it when Sesshomaru walked in the room. Looking up, he cringed as he saw a solemn expression on his face yet fury rushed in his eyes.

"You're free to go." He said simply and motioned towards the door. "But you're on probation."

Inu-Yasha murmured something like 'whatever' and was walking past Sesshomaru when he caught his arm.

"That was harsh Inu-Yasha." He said and then pushed him back to look him straight in the eye.

He shrugged. "She deserved -."

"No she didn't" he replied, not letting Inu-Yasha finish his sentence. "Go after her and apologize."

Inu-Yasha widened his eyes in surprise, looking as if he had just been told to go murder himself. "Are you crazy? No way!"

"Inu-Yasha..." Sesshomaru started off but was cut off by Inu-Yasha.

"I'm not going after her!" he replied, whining like a little four year old boy.

"Then apologize to her tonight." He said and sighed as Inu-Yasha looked away.

"No!"

"I'll leave you right now, but think about it." Sesshomaru said and turned around, walking out of the room silently, leaving Inu-Yasha to his thoughts.

Inu-Yasha grumbled and then kicked the chair over. Great... now Sesshomaru had sent him on a guilt trip.

....................................

Kagome ran down the corridor, ignoring the yells from behind, most of which sounded like 'You shouldn't be running, you're sick remember?!' Reaching the elevator, she pressed the button and ran inside of it as the doors opened. Wiping away the tears and furiously pushing the button which marked '1st floor', she leaned back against the doors and thanked god as the doors closed, blocking out the yells from the Taisho's.

Oh god, how she wished that she were with Sango and Ayame right now! How she wished that everyone knew that she knew the Taisho's so it wouldn't be such a burden on her back. It would make life much... much easier!

Sometimes she felt as if she was being backstage at some TV show, knowing the _real _personalities of the famous actors that lied to everyone on how they actually were.

Sighing and calming down as the elevator went down a few floors, she took a deep breath. Hadn't she promised to herself that she wouldn't let Inu-Yasha get to her no matter what?

Nodding to herself she took in another deep breath. No matter what, she wouldn't let him ruin this trip for her.

Looking up at the screen which told her what floor she was on, she noticed she had stopped on the seventeenth floor. Scrunching her eyebrows and wiping away the last tears which had fallen out of her eyes, she straightened her posture as a young yet handsome man walked in the doors.

"Is the elevator going up or down?" he asked as he stepped beside Kagome.

"... down." She said meekly and pointed towards the button where it marked she had pressed number one.

He nodded and then casually pressed the twentieth floor. "I can wait." He said and smiled freakishly as the door closed again.

Kagome nodded and pressed herself further away from the man, somehow not liking the tone of his voice.

"Anyway, why don't we talk while we wait?" he asked and then turned towards her.

Kagome hesitated, thinking along the lines _'why can't we remain strangers?' _"Uh... hi..."

"My name's Naraku Medimino!" he said and held out a hand which she shook nervously.

"Kagome Higurashi." She said and shrunk back, secretly wiping her hand against her clothes as a gooey slimy substance had grimed upon her as she had shook his hand.

"I'm so freaking excited!" he said and then smiled in his own freakish way again.

"Why?" She asked and then wished she hadn't.

He clasped his hands together. "Because I just found out the famous Inu-Yasha is in this building and I am... like... so going to hunt him down and kidnap him so I can secretly marry him illegally."

Kagome widened her eyes, oh god – not another Gaylord! "Are... you gay?"

He nodded then shrugged casually. "Yep... and I'm in love with Inu-Yasha, isn't he so handsome?!"

Kagome smiled weakly. "Whatever you say..." she said and then wished hopefully for the elevator to proceed faster.

"I would kill anyone who didn't like him, didn't know who he was, or who knew him in person!" he said and Kagome took a step back as a threatening face lured over his face.

Kagome bit her bottom lip. Oh shit... this guy was dangerous!

"I'm serious, see," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long and sharp knife. "I keep this with me all the time, just in case I meet someone who fulfils those needs..." his eye twitched and he put the knife back and reached into the other pocket to pull out a gun. "And I keep this too – just in case as well..."

Kagome felt her heart beat faster. _'Oh my god!'_ She yelled in her head. This guy... he was crazy!!! "Um... how'd you sneak into this building?" she asked nervously, knowing full well that those items were definitely not allowed.

"I have my ways..." his eye twitched again. "... I can feel it... I just know he's in this building!"

Kagome looked away and took in a deep breath as the elevator reached the first floor. Running out of the elevator, she took one look back at the crazy man and then ran up to the counter. Oh god... that guy – he was crazy!! He was -

"Kagome, are you okay?"

Kagome jumped up as someone put a hand on her shoulder. Turning around at the speed of light, she let out a deep breath as she noticed it was just Kikyou. "Yeah, I'm fine... but... there's a madman who snuck into this building and he's after Inu-Yasha."

Kikyou raised an eyebrow and fixed her skirt. "Really?"

She nodded furiously. "He had a gun... and a knife! He said he'll kill anyone who didn't like Inu-Yasha, and anyone who knew him!"

Kikyou nodded and then snapped her fingers to get an attention of two sturdy police officers. "Go make sure no madman reaches Inu-Yasha..." she said and turned back to Kagome. "Well, make sure he doesn't kill you then... because you qualify for both of those options!"

Kagome nodded with a slight smile. "Yep, but um... Kikyou – I'm not feeling very well, so can you please call some limo to take me home?" she asked and Kikyou nodded.

Putting her hand to her forehead, Kikyou frowned. "You have a slight temperature..."

"I know..."

"Alright then, just wait outside, the limo will come shortly." Kikyou said and watched Kagome walk out of the doors, ignorant to the fact that Naraku had overheard the whole conversation, his eye twitching as he heard that Kagome knew Inu-Yasha and as a matter of fact, didn't like him at all.

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**Aha! And so the plot begins – believe me, this is just the beginning, so much more twists to reveal! So... I made Naraku a gay creep... so what? (sticks out tongue to any objectors) – sorry for the delay for this chapter, but don't worry, the next chapter will come out soon!**

**Well... it'll only come if you review! So click that purple button on the left hand screen and go get reviewing! **


	8. A Midnight Quarrel

**Thank you all sooo very much for all your support!! It _really _helps me out!**

**I'm so glad that a lot of people liked the fact that Naraku was gay... Believe me; his role will play sufficiently throughout the story! **

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**Chapter Eight**

**A Midnight Quarrel **

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Kagome had fallen asleep just as soon as she had hit her bed. First being dragged out of her room for some freaking abduction of Inu-Yasha, then being pulled into another room to question Inu-Yasha, then being stuck in an elevator with a homosexual man, then having to ride home in a jeep which was so damn slow that it took them fifteen damn minutes to finally reach the villa, where many people still remained to take snapshots in case their money was taken back and the deal was cut - was in fact a very tiring process for Kagome.

Her back was killing her, that was for sure, and the only thing that was on her mind the whole way back was how _creepy _that homo guy Naraku was. She frowned in her sleep. God, how her back was killing her right now... not only that, but it felt that she couldn't take another step by the thudding pain in her legs.

Grumbling something in her sleep, not even noticing when Sesshomaru walked in her bedroom as it was his time for watching over her, she contorted her face as another painful memory flashed back through her mind.

......

"... _I can't believe you Inu-Yasha..." she sobbed out as she passed him, giving him nothing but a pained stare. It seemed like an eternity, but on the clock, it was a mere second as they both stared at each other, Inu-Yasha's eyes showing no emotion whatsoever while Kagome's eyes poured out her soul. _

_Her heart twisted with pain as he said nothing, and instead of baring his presence any longer, she turned around and ran out of the club. _

_Running down the street, tears falling hopelessly down her face, she sobbed mercilessly as she remembered what had happened only a few minutes ago. Finding a telephone booth just around the corner, she ran inside the small space and still hopelessly weeping her eyes out, she picked up the phone and threw in a quarter. _

_Dialing her mother's cell number as her body shook with fear and sadness, she slid down to the floor of the booth as the phone rang. As her mother picked up, she choked as she forced out some words. "M-mom..." _

"_Kagome? Kagome, is that you? Kagome – what happened? Why are you crying!?" her mother's worried voice carried into her ears immediately. _

"_Mom, I want to go home, please, please pick me up – I can't stay here any longer!" she wept out, not noticing as footsteps were heard behind her._

"_Kagome, take a deep breath, tell me what happened!" Her mother was beyond worry now, and her voice shook as Kagome cried even harder._

"_Mom, I'm all alone here, send someone, I don't know the way back – they'll come and get me, please, please mom – please!" Kagome wept out and hugged her knees as Kagome's mother panicked and immediately called Kagome's father. _

_He took his wife's cell and talked in hurriedly. "Kagome, where are you?"_

"_Daddy, I DON'T know!" she yelled into the phone between gasps. _

"_Honey, don't worry, stay where you are, I've called the police, they'll track down your location." He said and told her to take a deep breath. "Stay on the phone, we're right here with you, don't be scared sweetie, everything will be okay." _

_Kagome let out a heart filled sob and froze as a shadow loomed over her. Standing up, she closed the phone immediately and opened the door of the booth to stand and face the man. Seeing it was Inu-Yasha, she immediately took three steps back. _

"_Listen to me -." He started off but was cut off as Kagome yelled. _

"_YOU BASTARD!" She yelled out and didn't care if the whole world heard her. Taking another step back as he took a step forward, she clutched her arms. "Stay away from me, DON'T COME NEAR ME!" _

_Inu-Yasha froze in his steps. "LISTEN TO ME!" _

_Kagome flinched at his tone and felt her heart contort with fear. Sobbing, she fell to her knees. "Get away from me, please, get away from me!"  
_

_Inu-Yasha paid no heed to her words, instead, he leaned down in front of her. "Ka-." _

_Kagome slapped as hard as she could, shocking him as her hand connected with his face. _

_There was no point of him and his stupid excuses now, she knew the truth, she was nothing but a whore to his eyes, nothing but a play toy, he didn't care about her, he never did. _

_Looking up, she ignored the quench of her stomach as she stared into his eyes, ignoring the red mark that her slap on his cheek had left. "Get away from me!" she sobbed out and cried, looking back down to the cemented ground. _

_This time, he left. _

_Standing up without a word, he turned around and ran, ran to wherever he did, not looking back once at Kagome as she sobbed on the ground. _

_And at that moment, the police arrived, surrounding her at once, questioning her with all the might they had. _

.............................

Kagome yelled as she sat straight in her bed, looking around furiously, she took in quick and sharp breaths as she noticed that she had been asleep the whole time. She was breathing in and out quickly, when a hand was placed on her shoulder.

Looking up, she gulped as she saw Sesshomaru peering at her face with a confused, though rather cute expression. "Are you okay?"

Kagome smiled and then nodded at his concern. "I just had a bad nightmare."

Sesshomaru sighed. "Alright, just to tell you, my mom couldn't come today so I decided that I'd take care of you the whole day..."

Kagome widened her eyes. "Oh, thank you so much... though I don't think that I was asleep for that long..." her eyebrows shot up even further as she noticed that it was 9.50 p.m. "Oh my god... I was asleep for that long?"

Sesshomaru smirked. "Yep." He said and then stretched his arms. "The small trip in the morning must have exhausted you."

Kagome nodded, instantly noticing the headache, and pains in her body. "Sure hell it did."

They talked after that, just playing a few verbal games; they did that for the last ten minutes of Sesshomaru's stay. And as it was time for him to depart, Kagome sighed as she remembered what Inu-Yasha had said to her in the police station, making her even more disappointed as Sesshomaru got up to leave.

"Have fun with Inu-Yasha..." he said with a smirk and Kagome rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll _try_," she laughed as Sesshomaru shook his head and headed for the door. "Though I don't think it'll work."

Kagome sighed as Sesshomaru left the room, telling her that he had popped in a few pills into her mouth during her sleep for her daily dose of medicine. Nodding as he closed the door, Kagome turned off the room light and once again, put on her lamp.

Closing her eyes, she tried to push away the memories that were flashing through her mind constantly. It was all over... why worry about it _now_?

Shaking her head, she stifled a groan as Inu-Yasha opened the door and walked in stubbornly. Shaking her head as she felt another wave of sleepiness overcome her, she yawned and tried to remain awake. She had to get something to eat... or drink... or whatever. She hadn't taken a bite... or 'gulp' since morning and she was starving.

Ignoring the glare that was sent to her from Inu-Yasha, she slipped out of bed and then noticed something else.

Oh god... she had to go to the bathroom _bad. _

Changing directions and heading towards the bathroom, she was about to open the door when Inu-Yasha called out to her from the place he was setting out his mattress. "Where're you going?" he asked her in a gruff tone.

Kagome sighed and then snuck a glance at him. "Bathroom." She said curtly and stepped inside to do whatever she had to.

Inu-Yasha grumbled as he flattened out the mattress and flopped down on it. Giving her an apology would be harder than he thought... after what Sesshomaru had said to him, well... his conscience wouldn't leave him alone.

Inu-Yasha muttered nonsense as he laid down flat on his stomach. Last time he had ever come close to an apology with Kagome he had gotten a slap on his cheek. He grumbled again as he buried his face in the mattress and remembered the day as if it were just yesterday.

_Inu-Yasha paid no heed to her words, instead, he leaned down in front of her. "Ka-." _

_Kagome slapped as hard as she could, shocking him as her hand connected with his face. _

Muttering something incoherent underneath his breath, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. Opening the cap, he swallowed a gulp of alcohol. Sighing with content, he closed the bottle and put the bottle back into his pocket.

He scrunched his nose cutely as Kagome exited the bathroom, and once again, flopped down on her bed. Glancing up at her sitting form, he muttered some incoherent language as he got up and flopped down at the foot of Kagome's bed, making her jump slightly at his sudden movement.

"Inu-Yasha, what are you doing?" Kagome asked and narrowed her eyes at him.

Inu-Yasha grumbled something which Kagome couldn't pick up and looked away, as a small pink tinge formed on his cheeks.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Earth to Inu-Yasha, what was that you said?"

Inu-Yasha sighed and then glanced at her, folding his arms across his chest in a little pout. "I said..." he started off but ended up grumbling again and the pink tinge grew stronger, making Kagome even more confused.

"You said...?" Kagome asked again, frustration starting to tick her off.

Inu-Yasha mumbled something and then looked at Kagome. "I said that you can forget about what I said to you at the police station..." he said and ended up mumbling words to himself once again.

Kagome widened her eyes, almost baffled by his exclamation. "Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I SAID – that you can forget about... ugh... never mind!"

Kagome however, was not going to let this go. "Are you apologizing to me?"

Inu-Yasha sighed and looked away. "Whatever"

"Well, if you are – then you can say a straight out sorry can't you?!" Kagome asked, feeling frustrated at his childish behavior.

Inu-Yasha growled. "You can't make me do anything wench!" Inwardly groaning, he cursed himself silently, that sorry just went from successful to down in the gutters.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't telling you to do anything!! I'm just not the kind of woman who allows men insult me like that and let it go easily just if you made up your mind that you needn't have said that before!"

Inu-Yasha fished for a comeback... she did have a point there, but his reputation would be destroyed if he caved in. "You little bitch! Here I am, being forced to take care of you every night for two damn week and all you can't even appreciate that now can you?!"

Kagome felt fire burn in her chest. "I WOULD IF YOU WOULD STOP PICKING A FIGHT WITH ME _EVERY _NIGHT!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ALWAYS STARTS IT!" Inu-Yasha yelled out at her, matching his tone with hers perfectly.

"Then JUST LEAVE would you!?" Kagome spat out at him, not being able to bare his presence any longer.

Inu-Yasha jumped off of the bed at once. "It'll be _my_ pleasure!" He shouted back and then stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Kagome growled in frustration as she flopped back down on her bed. Screw him and his freaking temper and priority problems! Who the hell did he think he was? King of the world? He could go and rot in the sewers for all he was worth, UGH – she just couldn't take his stupid arguments ANY longer.

Turning around and burying her head in her pillow, she stomped her feet and punched her bed with her fists. She felt like _strangling_ someone! It was just so unfair! He was... well... let's just say, she was the only person who Inu-Yasha acted differently around. EVEN since the first day they met.

She felt anger boil in her stomach as she remembered the third Valentines Day they had spent with the Taisho's.

"_And Mrs. Higurashi, this red rose is for you!" Inu-Yasha who was only six years old handed a red rose to Kagome's mom. It was Valentines Day once again, and everyone who had any relationship – be it whatsoever was giving someone something._

_Inu-Yasha had two dozen roses in the plastic bag, which his mother probably forced to hand out – was giving the roses to everyone he saw, let it either be his close friend or an old time relative. _

_Kagome, who had spotted Sesshomaru, and had made a very special card for him, picked up the rim of her frock and ran towards him, but just as she passed Inu-Yasha, he stuck out a leg, making her stumble to the ground. _

_As she picked herself up and looked around to see who did it, tears at the verge of her eyes, she felt her lips tremble as she saw Inu-Yasha laughing at her. "And that's your Valentines Day present banana peel!" _

_Kagome flopped onto her bum and started to cry, hating the nickname he had given her... not even knowing why he called her 'banana peel'. _

_As her mother came to pick her up from the ground, she sobbed and looked at Inu-Yasha. "Why are you so mwean to me?" she said and cried as more tears fell down her face. _

_Inu-Yasha stuck out his tongue. "Cause you're a banana peel!"_

"_I'm NOT a bawanna peel!" she wept out and then felt her heart lift as her mom picked her up and gave her a hug. _

Kagome kicked her bed and remembered how every year, she would gift Inu-Yasha with an attitude of kindness, but he only... and only repaid it with rudeness, until of course her eighth birthday when she finally realized she was unwanted around him. Yet – she still gave him a chance – and would only fight with him if he said something rude to her.

But of course, on her thirteenth birthday, when she was merrily _finally_ becoming a teen – Inu-Yasha had ruined her cake. She had been celebrating it at her shrine and had settled for a quiet birthday party at midnight – with the Taisho's.

And Inu-Yasha who was fourteen at the time, had crept into the kitchen, and had ruined the cake... more like eaten it – but her birthday had still been ruined. From that day on, she had hated Inu-Yasha with all the will power she had... and then came her sixteenth birthday party... when he had...

Kagome growled and pushed the memory to the back of her mind. She need not remember such things... they were past memories now... and she could might as well forget them now.

But, she didn't.

An hour passed by, and her mind kept replaying the years she had spent with the Taisho's; how Inu-Yasha had somehow ruined some kind of event for her someway or another.

Two hours passed by, and Inu-Yasha still hadn't come back... and Kagome, she had fallen asleep... or in other words, had grew unconscious due to an overheated body.

..........................................

Naraku laughed out loud as he walked groggily down the empty street of Demonwood. He had been kicked out of the police station, and he knew who exactly had given away his cover and had crushed his chances of meeting his soon to be fiancé, Inu-Yasha.

Laughing again as he stood in front of the Taisho's Villa, he picked up the attention of the guards who were on duty for the night. "Now don' you worry my man!" he said, giving away the impression immediately that he was drunk. "I aint' goin' inside!" he said and then swayed on his spot.

Looking inside, he cackled as he saw that his beloved Inu-Yasha was just inside the gates...

But... no... he mustn't go in... Not yet at least. Looking around, still being the apple of the eye for the guards, he widened his eyes and looked up in the sky.

"Twinkle, Twinkle... little girl..." he said, changing the nursery rhyme as the thought of Kagome ran into his mind. "How I wonder where you are!" he laughed and swung his arms around. "Up with Inu-Yasha in the sky... like a bitch in my eye..."

He grabbed his hair and pulled. "Twinkle, Twinkle... little girl..." he started heading down the street, giving the Villa one last look. "... How I wonder where you are!"

Cackling silently to himself, he made a silent vow to himself to murder her at no costs... no living being got away with knowing the great and almighty Inu-Yasha and disliking him!

............................................................

Inu-Yasha sighed as he pulled his car into the basement where his other three dozen personal cars were kept. Pulling on the brakes, he sighed and leaned back on the seat. It was 4.30 a.m. – he had spent five and a half hours at the club, dancing with some dime store floozy... and shit... he felt wasted.

Opening the door and stepping out onto the pavement of the dark basement, he made his way quietly to the elevator, hovering his hand on the button which said '3rd', where his room had been moved to – he grumbled and pressed '2nd', knowing that it wouldn't hurt to check on Kagome.

He had stepped out of the elevator on the 2nd floor and was heading towards Kagome's room when he sensed all the lights and air conditioning in the villa go out. Groaning, he shook his head. This was _just_ great. He said, sarcasm dripping from every word. Who needed a power failure in the middle of the night... in summer?

Walking up to Kagome's room, which was now pitch black due to the power failure, he pressed his ear on the door and listened... that was good... no noise... meaning she was asleep.

He was about to turn around to leave when a nagging feeling in his gut told him to open the door. Growling with frustration, he turned Kagome's door knob and opened the door slightly, peeking in to make sure she was fine.

Then it hit him smack in the middle of the face.

She wasn't asleep, she was unconscious, and the deadly scent of sickness and a burning temperature – was coming straight from her.

......................................................

**Oh la la... a cliffie!! Yaay! And what's this? All the powers out? Meaning... the phones are dead? Meaning... no contact to the hospital!? Muahaha. **

**Well, there are A LOT of flashbacks in this chapter... and just to tell you, I don't plan on keeping the 'secret' from you guys any longer, meaning, you can expect it in the next chapter... ANYWAY **

**I won't update, unless you review... so go get reviewing! **

**And yes, I know – the chapters short... but I have already placed everything planned to be in it already!**


	9. A Trip To The Hospital

**Hmm... so many people asked how many chapters this fiction will have... I'm not so sure, but let's bargain for around twenty seven... to... thirty?**

**And, just a notice, I don't have anything against gay people, I just thought, that in the anime/manga – Naraku hates Inu-Yasha, so why not switch that around? =D**

**Oh, and of course, I'm soooo sorry for the late update, I had A LOT of things going on... giving me no time to write.**

**Chapter Nine**

**A Trip To The Hospital **

.................. 

Kagome felt her heart beat against her chest harshly; she was living through it again... scene by scene – her worst nightmare and her biggest fear.

"_Um... Hey, Kagome, you want to go to a club?" Inu-Yasha asked Kagome, watching her watch the movie which was on TV in anticipation. Kagome tore her eyes away from the screen and looked at him, instantly noticing that something was wrong. _

"_Is everything okay Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked and furrowed her eyes in confusion as Inu-Yasha shifted his spot on the chair with hesitance. _

"_F-fine..." he said and Kagome saw him flinch as he stuttered. _

"_Are you sure?" Kagome asked, knowing he was lying boldly to her face. _

_Inu-Yasha nodded. "Yeah, I'm great – anyway, you wanna go to the club?" He asked again and Kagome sighed, giving up on the movie. _

"_I thought you said that you didn't go there anymore..." Kagome said and then got up from the sofa. _

_Inu-Yasha shrugged. "My friends wanted me to come... so you want to join me?" _

_Kagome tried to ignored the uncertainty and nervousness in his voice, instead, she nodded. "Sure I guess."_

_The trip to the club was silent, and Kagome, noticing the way Inu-Yasha gripped the wheel harshly, made a personal note that something was definitely wrong. Looking out the window, Kagome opened the door as they reached the club, stepping out silently. _

_x.x_

Inu-Yasha widened his eyes as the realization of the situation hit him smack dead on the face. With a numerous different thoughts scurrying through his head, most of which were like _'what the hell should I do!?' _he scrambled inside the dark room and ran over to Kagome's bed. Scrunching his eyes at the lack of light in the room, he scrambled onto Kagome's bed and fumbled around, trying to find her.

"Screw the freaking darkness!" He snapped out loud as the lapse in light was giving him a hard time trying to see. Finally finding Kagome's hand, which surprised him as it was overly warm, he grabbed her waist by his other hand and pulled her up into his lap.

'_Shit! She's so warm!' _he growled as he looked around the room. DAMN! The air conditioning had been turned off due to the power failure... he needed to cool her down... and fast!

Noticing that the windows, balcony door and curtains were closed, he placed Kagome back down on the bed and ran over to the balcony door, flinging it open, after doing so, he ran to the curtains – drawing each one to the side, revealing the large walled glass windows. Pushing the windows open, he felt his mood dampen as he noticed there was apparently no breeze, meaning, no cool wind.

Turning back around, he squinted as he noticed that the room was much easier to see as the moon was now shining its light on the settings. Shaking his head off of all thought, he paced around the room, looking for some sort of communication device that worked without the villa's electricity.

"This isn't working!" he said, slamming the phone down as he received a dead line. Running back to Kagome, he placed his hand on her forehead and immediately pulled it back. Holy shit, she was burning!

He shook his head at the possibilities... he could go to his parents room and tell him about the situation, but their room was on the other side of the villa, and even if he got there in time, they wouldn't be able to do something, and even if he found a way to contact an ambulance, he had to cool her temperature down or else her temperature would get the best of he before the ambulance even arrived.

He was starting to lose his patience, almost at the verge of breaking something when an idea popped into his head. Running out to the balcony, he jumped on the railing, and leapt to the balcony above it, which was actually, his own balcony.

Running inside his room, he quickly paced up to his mini-refrigerator and pulled it open. Scanning the contents, he felt his insides burst with triumphant pleasure as he spotted two bottles of icy cool water. Grabbing them both, he ran back out to his balcony and jumped back down to Kagome's, where he took no time in running back to her bed and jumping on it.

Taking a deep though rather short breath at the lack of time to what he had to do, he gulped before grabbing Kagome's shirt and ripping it off.

Closing his eyes shut immediately if she wasn't wearing anything underneath, he grumbled as he felt around for some piece of clothing. He took a big sigh of relief as he noticed she had a crop top on and opened his eyes; glad he didn't have to give an explanation later on to the folks to why she was naked.

Screwing off the lid of one of the water bottles, he poured the freezing cold water over her stomach and on her neck, hoping that it would jolt her awake some way or another. Seeing that it was making no difference, he splashed some water on her forehead and felt a nerve go off as she remained unconscious.

Throwing the empty water ball on the ground, he opened up the second water bottle and opened her both, pouring one out of four quarters of the water in her mouth. Pulling back to see if she reacted in any way, he growled as he noticed she didn't and poured in another quarter of water in her mouth.

She choked. Fluttering her eyes open, she took in quick and short breaths as the liquid gave a shock of cold air in her body. Choking as Inu-Yasha made her gulp down more water, she groaned as she noticed how freaking hot she was feeling right now and accepted the water with no complains.

Letting out a sigh of relief as she regained consciousness, he dropped her back on her bed and dived into his pant pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed the police number and quickly called an ambulance.

_x.x_

Kagome groaned as the doctor put in an injection the second time that day. She barely remembered what had happened the night before, most of her memories were most along the lines of Inu-Yasha disappearing and then waking up to feel as if her body was on fire, then just hearing a lot of voices and then being carried to a van where she fell asleep again.

And now, when she awoke, she found herself surrounded by the whole Taisho family and the same doctor who had come to her room to check up on her before. After pulling out the needle, he smiled at her. "All done, and you'll be out of this hospital in a week!"

Kagome grumbled. "Why one whole week?"

Mrs. Taisho coughed to gain her attention. "Well, we thought it would be best if you stayed in the hospital for any more emergencies, I mean, after last night, we can't risk your life again!"

Sighing with displeasure, she banged her head softly against her pillow. "You mean I have to stay in here until I'm all better?"

The doctor nodded as he got up and headed towards the door. "By the way, where's the other chop?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow and looked around to see what he meant; understanding immediately as she noticed Inu-Yasha was missing. She was about to speak up when Mrs. Taisho interrupted. "He had to speak with the director of the new movie he's taking role in..."

Giving one final nod, the doctor left the room, leaving Kagome alone with the family. "I... uhm... I'm sorry for making you all worry." She said and watched as exasperated sighs came from the family.

"Kagome, you idiot, we should be the one apologizing to _you. _If Inu-Yasha had paid better attention to you, you wouldn't be here!" Karira said boldly and then climbed into the bed with Kagome. "Okay then, I'm going to stay with you to keep you company!" she said, smiling broadly. "After all, what're you going to do here for a whole week alone?"

Kagome laughed weakly. "Thanks," looking around the room, she held in a shudder as she noticed the settings of the room... oh god, how she hated the hospital!

"We should be leaving then," Getting up from his chair, Sesshomaru stretched his arms before leading the waving 'goodbye' company out.

After they had securely shut the door behind them, Karira turned to Kagome sharply. "Kagome, I have to talk to you about something!" she whispered out quickly, grabbing her attention immediately.

"What happened?" Sitting up in her bed, Kagome strained her attention on Karira.

"Last night was no coincidence, we asked some workers to come and fix the power, but when they went to check, all the wires of the villa had been cut, every single one of them!"

Kagome scrunched her eyebrows as a wave of confusion overflowed her body. "But... why would they do that? I mean, I could've gotten my temperature any day!"

Sighing, Karira raised her knees to her chest. "Someone's been spying on you, I just know it! And when they saw that you had a temperature and were quite hopeless, they cute the power lines so no one could call the ambulance or put on some air conditioning!"

Kagome felt a tang of fear pull a cord of her heart as she remembered the man in the elevator, named Naraku. "Could it be some crazy old fan of Inu-Yasha somehow finding out that he's been spending nights with me...?"

Karira shook her head. "Impossible, they wouldn't be able to get in, we have tough security and all, it has to be someone who could dig their way into the villa or fly over the gates someway or another."

Kagome scoffed. "I'm going to have a hard time believing someone who would dig or fly their way in..." Shaking her head at the possibility, she looked at Karira uneasily as a thought came in her head. "It has to be someone who's already living in the villa."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Karira groaned measly. "This isn't good, that means someone knows about our family being in touch with your family!"

"But why would they want to _kill_ me then?" Kagome whispered back, leaning her head on the wall behind her. "I mean, there has to be a reason why they would cut the lines exactly at the moment I got a high temperature..."

"This is too confusing!" Giving in, Karira flumped down on the bed, "Way too many questions!" giving Kagome a demoralized expression, she saw her sigh.

"Let's forget about this... maybe it's just a coincidence after all, and maybe the rats chewed on all of the wires, not some maniac who wants to kill me." Pushing away the subject, Kagome started chattering to Karira, completely immune to the lurking shadow behind their door which vanished immediately in a huff as soon as the conversation was finished.

_x.x_

Inu-Yasha yawned as he sat in the chair of the studio. He barely got any sleep last night, and now... he was sitting in the studio, listening to some bald guy talk about something he was barely paying attention to.

Looking around, he spotted a familiar face. Coughing and muttering an excuse to leave the table, he rushed over to Miroku and pulled him outside.

"Whew! I thought I would have to listen to that baldy go on forever!" he said and walked down the lawn of the studio, while still dragging along Miroku.

"Umm... Mr. Taisho? I don't really know you... please stop – ack!" Miroku snapped his mouth shut as he tripped, and being dragged along by Inu-Yasha, his pants weren't receiving quite good of a treatment. "The pants! Mind the pants!"

Inu-Yasha sighed and dumped Miroku on the floor and flopped down beside him. Looking over to Miroku, he raised an eyebrow. "What's with you?"

"I told you to mind the pants! Now I've got grass stains all over them, sheesh!" He shook his head and tried to rub off the stains. "Great, you know how expensive these were? I'm not some superstar like you so I actually have to take care of the stuff I buy you know!"

Inu-Yasha snickered and looked away. "Too bad, I needed someone to talk to and unfortunately you were the only one free."

"Couldn't you have stained someone else's pants? Moron..." Miroku grumbled and then glanced towards Inu-Yasha. "So waddaya need to talk about?"

"Eh... nothing really," he yawned again and flopped down on the lawn. "I'm tired."

"Well I'm not so I'm just leaving." Miroku got up but was tugged back down by Inu-Yasha.

"If you leave, they'll think I'm some maniac staying out here all alone doing nothing, so just bare with me until I feel like I can handle that bald assed again!" Inu-Yasha yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Now get me a drink and put a straw in it while you're at it."

Miroku rolled his eyes. "I'm not your servant, many other people may worship you buddy, but I don't."

He sighed. "Feh, whatever."

They stayed in silence for the next few minutes, Miroku desperately looking around to find some 'hot' worthwhile women while Inu-Yasha took a little nap. As Miroku saw Kikyou walk into the room where people were discussing the movie, a question popped into his head. "Yo Inu-Yasha!" he said, forgetting any formality.

Inu-Yasha peeked one eye open. "Whaddaya want?"

"What's the relationship between you and that Kagome girl?" Miroku asked innocently, memories of how horrendous the way Inu-Yasha and Kagome acted towards each other flashed through his head.

Inu-Yasha hesitated. "Uh... none of your business really," he got up. "We've just had this feud between us since childhood, that's all."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

Shooting a rude glare towards Miroku, Inu-Yasha cracked his neck. "I have no idea really..."

"You have no idea why you both hate each other? Psh, come on!"

Inu-Yasha groaned. "Fine, I'll tell... it's just that, on the day Kagome arrived at my villa... something happened, and well, I don't trust you enough to tell, but it happened, and I was mad... and when I saw Kagome arrive, she was so happy, without a care in the world that I got jealous, why should she be happy when I was so miserable? So that day, I tried to get her all sad, so I didn't have to see that completely blissful face of hers, and then after that... as the days passed, I kind of forgot that she really didn't do anything, but I did – and then there was no way I could go back so now where mortal enemies."

Miroku sighed and shook his head. "You're such a blockhead..." he yelled as he felt a hard punch on his shoulder. "What did you do that for?!"

"For calling me a blockhead." He glared at him and then returned looking at the ground, returning to their first subject. "So that's it."

Miroku shook his head. "I know there's more, I mean, the way you both glare at each other and try to kill each other whenever you meet... there has to be something else."

Inu-Yasha groaned again. "You won't stop until you get the full story will you?"

Grinning, Miroku nodded. "You got it my friend."

"So now we're _friends_..." he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Well, fine, one day, my friends dared me to pretend that I actually liked Kagome... and to act all 'nice' towards her, and I accepted, the dare was meant for two week so I went along with it. So you know, I apologized to Kagome about everything and she fell into the trap as easy as that," Inu-Yasha snapped his fingers. "So then the first week passed, and truth be told, it wasn't that bad having Kagome as a friend, but nevertheless, I couldn't back down on the dare... so when the second week came, I asked her out, and well, she said fine and all...

... then when the last day of the dare approached, I was supposed to take her to a club, and so I did... when I reached the club, I got a ring on my cell phone and when I picked it up, it was my friends, and they told me what I had to do to complete the dare. So, I said fine... I'll do whatever they needed me to do, and then I took her inside, and as the dare was set, I pushed her to the middle of the stage and grabbed the microphone... and so I insulted her then, about everything she had, everything she _was, _and I said that anyone could take her and do shit to her... well, my friends beat her up a little, everyone was laughing... then she just ran away."

Miroku raised his eyebrows at Inu-Yasha as he finished. Trying to find words despite the fact he was speechless, Miroku gaped at him, and finally stumbled some words out. "You filthy son of a bitch!"

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "It's all over now; it's been two years anyway."

Miroku continued to gape at him. "You fucking son of a bastard!"

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "You can stop with the burns; they aren't affecting me in any way you know." He glanced at Miroku. "Oh, for god's sake, close that mouth of yours!"

Finally closing his mouth, Miroku looked around surprisingly. "That... oh man... Inu-Yasha..." he shook his head. "Didn't you even try to say sorry?"

"Ha... I tried, all I got was a slap in the face," he got up and started to head towards the studio once again, however, Miroku wasn't going to let him go.

"But man, of course she was going to slap you! She should've ripped your balls out for doing that! Swallow your ego and go back and apologize!" He stood in front of Inu-Yasha and pushed him back. "If the friends you were talking about were real friends, they wouldn't have forced you to do that, so you have nothing to lose!"

Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyes and pushed Miroku out of the way. "It's been two fucking years! Why the hell should I apologize now!? All you did was ask me to tell you, I never bargained to get some lessons!"

Miroku shook his head and sighed, there was no way he was going to win this. "Just tell me one thing, at a point; you did like her, right?" he asked and looked at Inu-Yasha stonily.

Inu-Yasha growled, oh crud, now this dude who he barely knew was trying to squeeze his life story out of him, letting out a frustrated sigh, he glanced towards the studio before talking. "At one point, two years ago, maybe I did, only for a day or two, that's it, not anymore – not ever, it's all over and done with, now get lost!"

And with that, Inu-Yasha turned around and ran back into the studio, leaving a baffled Miroku to his thoughts. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Karma has it ways, if he won't accept that what he did was wrong right now, then a horrible event will have to occur to snap some sense into his stone headed mind."

_x.x_

Kagome yawned as she woke up on the eighth day of her stay in the hospital. It had been a tiresome and rather boring week; all she had to do was eat the hospital food, watch TV and sleep. On top of that, whenever Inu-Yasha came to give some news to his mother who was watching over her twenty-four seven, he seemed in a grumpier mood then ever.

Looking around her room for her trolley of breakfast, she made a face as saw they had given her porridge _again. _Getting up from her bed, feeling much, _much, _better then ever, she walked up to the trolley and picked up her bowl.

She did a little skip back to her bed at the thought of leaving the hospital tomorrow. Her two weeks of illness were over! She could finally go out and have some real fun... oh god, how the thought was giving her excitement all over.

As she sat back on her bed and started to gulp down the porridge as fast as she could with the spoon, Mrs. Taisho and Karira walked in her room and quickly made their way to their posts, Karira being the one jumping on her bed and Mrs. Taisho being the one who sat simply on a chair.

Karira squealed. "We have _great_ news!" she looked over at her mother and told her to continue.

"Well, because tomorrow is the day you leave the hospital, I guess we could go to that summer resort I was talking about," she smiled at Kagome. "It's a great place for you to get back into shape, there's a beach right in front it, so sunny, and a famous beverage hut nearby!"

Kagome smiled, "That sounds great, but what about the press... how're you going to hold them down?"

Karira butted in before Mrs. Taisho got the chance to speak. "Well, we'll be leaving tonight, at midnight exactly, so no one will see us leave, and we'll reach the resort at exactly 5.00 a.m. – without anyone knowing that we're going there, so everyone will think that we're still in our house, but actually... we're not!"

Kagome widened her eyes. "Wow! You all have this quite covered..."

Karira nodded. "Yeah, and I packed everything for you because you wont have a chance to go to your room, and we'll pick you up at midnight, okay?"

Nodding, Kagome put on a frown. "Is Inu-Yasha coming?"

Mrs. Taisho sighed. "Of course, honey."

Kagome grumbled, completely unhappy with the decision, somehow not wanting to see his face after the night he supposedly 'saved' her. Humph! It was his fault she got a temperature anyway!

"Aww... no fair..." she murmured and flopped back down on her bed after finishing the bowl of porridge.

_x.x_

**Ah... I have a headache... I shouldn't be writing but I still did =D **

**And YUP – I know, what Inu-Yasha did was... let's say? Completely inconsiderate and horrible? Oh well... you'll find out what major role his actions play in the plot! **

**So anyway, review as always and tell me what you thought of it =D**


	10. Persistence of the Press

**Aw, I'm so sorry for the tremendously late update! First of all, school started and unfortunately, I already have projects lined up in front of me, meaning I barely had time to sit on my fluffed cushion seat and type on my keyboard. **

**Ah, to Drake220, my apologies, I never saw your review in that way. Ack, that was a little reckless of me, I hope you can forgive me, I'll try to be a little more considerate from now on but thanks for pointing out my foolishness. **

..................

**Chapter Ten**

**Persistence of the Press **

..................

Kagome yawned as she walked down the pavement of the airport to the private jet waiting patiently a few dozen feet in front of her. Karira had sneaked her out of the hospital, with the doctor's confirmation of course and now they had ridden a limo to the airport where their flight would be waiting.

Reaching the private jet, Kagome walked up the three step stairs at into the jet altogether. Stifling a yawn and ignoring the half dog demon idiot sitting casually in the first seat with his legs propped up on the table in front of him, she made her way past the idiot who she despised and sat in the only vacant seat in the jet, behind Inu-Yasha.

"Kagome, turn on your TV and tune into channel 147, they're showing your favorite movie of all time!" Karira said from the seat across from her where she was sitting, watching a movie from the small twenty inch TV screen which was placed behind the chair in front of her.

Kagome jerked up in her chair and flipped on the TV. "They're showing Titanic?"

"...Moulin Rouge." Karira said weakly, giving a small smile as Kagome flopped back down in her chair.

Shrugging, she flipped to the channel suggested and put on the headphones to listen to the dialogue of the movie. "Titanic is _still_ better though." She murmured, and watched as the actors played their lines.

"What's with girls and love stories?!" Inu-Yasha's gruff voice snapped out from in front of Kagome.

Feeling her eye twitch, Kagome grumbled and took off her headphones. "Why? Do you have a problem with that?" she snapped back, and kicked his seat from behind, feeling anger boil up in her for no apparent reason.

"I wasn't talking to you!" He barked back, bluffing up his previous question in a fury.

"Oh for god's sake, some of us are trying to fall back to sleep, spare us, _please!_" Rin shouted out and three heads swiveled to the back, just noticing that there was a bunk bed seated on the far back of the plane, where Sesshomaru had already fallen asleep beside Rin on the bottom bed who was still obviously awake, and Souta's head could be seen bobbing out of the blankets he was wrapped in, sleeping in the bunk above.

Lowering their voices at once, Kagome grumbled incoherent words as she went back to her normal seating position, sighing with relief as she saw Mr. Taisho appear from the curtains in front with Mrs. Taisho following behind. Both of them, going towards the small sofa setting in front of the bunk bed to sit, Mr. Taisho coughed, gaining everyone's attention... well, most of whoever was still awake. "We'll be taking flight right about now, have a good nap everyone, it's a good five hour trip!"

As from that moment, everyone fell into an elapsed silence as the plane silently took off into the sky, Rin falling asleep beside Sesshomaru who had drifted to sleep as soon as he had hit the pillow, Mr. and Mrs. Taisho sleeping silently against each other on the sofa and Karira being the one scrunched up in a ball on her chair, falling asleep midway throughout the movie.

Kagome yawned as she stretched in her chair, pushing the button which made it tilt backwards for a better sleeping position. Closing her eyes, she muttered out a goodnight to everyone, despite the fact almost everyone was already asleep, and then wandered into the world of dreams.

_x.x_

Kagome shot up awake as the sound of something crashing into something filled the jet at once. Looking around, still half asleep, Kagome groaned as she noticed Souta somehow had fallen out of his bunk bed and had fallen on the floor with a loud thump, immediately awakening Sesshomaru who had banged his head on the ceiling of the bottom bunk.

"Oh my dear lord, are you two okay?" Mrs. Taisho's worried voice came from behind the curtains which led to the cockpit of the plane. Pushing aside the curtains, an awake and fresh Mrs. Taisho walked in the space with a cup of noodles in her hand.

"Ow, Rin... my head..." Sesshomaru grumbled childishly, and rubbed his head, allowing Rin to pull his head into her lap as she just woke up and took notice of the occurrences sleepily.

Kagome sighed and shook her head with a small smile.

Typical.

Yawning, Kagome stood up from her chair and murmured a 'Good Morning' to everyone as normal morning havoc erupted, Souta being the one who started crying as he noticed just what had happened to him, Karira being the one who started yelling out in frustration at the morning awaking and Inu-Yasha being the one who was still snoring blissfully.

Walking towards the back bathroom, she squinted as Mr. Taisho was pulling up the small windows of the plane to let in some sunlight. Reaching the bathroom, Kagome fiddled with the doorknob and swung it open, walking inside groggily.

Locking the door behind her, Kagome yawned and turned on the taps, gathering water in her hands and splashing it on her face. After doing all her bathroom necessities, she was about to leave when she heard a small murmur of words behind her.

Turning around, she scrunched her eyes as she noticed that no one was there. Taking a step forward, she raised an eyebrow as she noticed the murmuring was coming from the floor. Crouching down to the ground, she pressed her ear to the floor as the murmuring continued.

"_I want more than a million dollars for this you know," _The voice murmured, _"If anyone finds out about this, it was you who brought me into this." _

Kagome froze as she heard the man murmur from wherever he was saying it from and leaned her ear closer to the bathroom floor in hope to hear more.

"_So you're sure there's a girl with him?" _A gruff voice murmured out, the voice tone so low, Kagome could barely pick it up.

"_I saw with my own eyes." _

Kagome's breath hitched in her throat. Why the heck could she hear voices from the bathroom floor and what the hell were they talking about?

"_You think I can get some juicy pictures?"_

"_Anything's possible..."_

Everything went into elapsed silence, and all Kagome could hear then was the annoying sound the plane made while moving through the air. Breathing silently, Kagome furrowed her eyebrows as she readjusted herself and sat down on the floor.

That was awkward.

One thing that was pulling the cords in her brain was...

Voices... from the floor?

Moving her hand across the tiled floor, she crawled over to the walls and tried to look for cracks or some secret passageways. This was impossible. She must have been hallucinating or something because...

**_Voices coming from the floor? _**

Letting out a deep breath, she crawled towards the toilet and looked around for some cracks, a small tinge of fear stinging her body. Two sentences from the conversation which were bringing out the worst from within her.

-

"_So you're sure there's a girl with him?"_

"_I saw with my own eyes." _

_-_

She squinted around the bathroom and got up, not sure what the hell to do. They could've been talking about _her _for all she knew... whoever _they _were anyway! It was just too much of a coincidence. They could've been talking about Inu-Yasha... and her being with him, and if that got out on the news, it would be hell for her and her family.

Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. This was stupid. Not only could they have been talking about her and Inu-Yasha, they could've been talking about Bugs Bunny and Tweety.

Taking in another deep breath, telling herself numerously to try to act normal, as if she hadn't heard the conversation at all, she opened the lock of the door and walked out, putting on a fake smile.

"Took you long enough!" Inu-Yasha barked at her as he ran by her in a huff to go to the bathroom. As soon as he reached the bathroom, he banged the door shut and locked it instantly.

"He had to pee..." Sesshomaru pointed out as he saw Kagome's confused expression.

"I didn't need to know that." She said with a smirk. Walking past Sesshomaru, she sat in her chair and waited as the stewardess came to announce they'll be landing soon.

_x.x _

It was around 5.30 a.m. when they reached the mansion they would be staying in and delightfully, the sun was already up in the sky, or halfway through, but nevertheless, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous.

The mansion itself was a structure of its own. It was built right in the middle of overlapping trees, the breeze gently blowing the petals of the flowers surrounding the gates of the mansion. However, what astounded Kagome the most was the breathtaking sunrise taking place on the beach beside the mansion. The sand stretched out for miles, vanishing beyond a point where Kagome couldn't see, and the sea waves were silently washing up on the sand, watering the rim of the beach ever so often.

And now, Kagome was in the room that was provided for her. It was absolutely luxurious, not as good as her room in the villa, but just as close. The mansion wasn't very big, only three stories high but truth be told, no one really cared. The scenery, weather and atmosphere brought a smile to everyone's faces, even Inu-Yasha's!

It was already eight-o-clock as Kagome finally unpacked everything that had been stuffed into the small bag pack that she had carried along with her: A few health care products... a toothbrush and her bathing suit. Nothing else really was needed as the mansion provided everything else, including all her clothes.

Slipping on her two piece swimming suit, she flew into a pair of blue sandals and quickly forced on a light blue mini skirt and the same colored tank top over her swimming suit. "Karira, you ready to go to the beach?!" she called out as she stepped out of her room and into the equally delightful corridor.

"Coming right behind you!" she yelled out, emerging from her room which was in the same corridor as Kagome's. "Let's go down, but we'll have to wait for my brothers, they're coming along too."

Kagome laughed. "I think they're old enough to walk to the beach alone, don't you think?"

"They are... but I'm not, even though I'm eighteen, Sesshomaru won't let me walk alone anywhere if I don't have some sort of security around me, talk about protective brothers." Karira murmured, tying her silky white hair into a high pony tail, her black highlights showing distinctively as she grumbled incoherent words under her breath. "Anyway, here they come..."

"Let's go," Sesshomaru yelled, running past the two girls in a whiz, jolting to a stop at the staircase. "I'll run ahead..." he said before sliding down the staircase railings.

"**COME BACK HERE YOU BASTARD**!" Inu-Yasha's voice came rambling from the room, and soon enough, he kicked open the door and ran after Sesshomaru in nothing but a pair of khaki beach shorts. "I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THAT!" He yelled out, startling Kagome as he crashed into her mindlessly midway through his run. "Ack! Watch out!" He murmured in a snap as he quickly got up from the ground, running down the staircase in the same direction Sesshomaru had run off to.

"Ow..." Kagome murmured, rubbing her bum as she got up from the floor. "What was all that about?"

"Who cares... they get into fights almost every day... Sesshomaru probably did something to embarrass Inu-Yasha... and now Inu-Yasha wants to murder Sesshomaru... but now Sesshomaru ran away... and now Inu-Yasha's off to get revenge." Karira said broadly and then walked down the staircase casually with Kagome skipping down behind her.

It didn't take them long to reach the beach and as they did, Kagome widened her eyes as she saw not only Sesshomaru trying to breath underwater as Inu-Yasha held him down in the sea but many... many other celebrities as well.

"Whoa... if so many celebrities come here, how come the news press doesn't come here?" Kagome asked as they slowly walked on the sand, throwing off their slippers, skirt and tank top at the entrance.

"Strictly off limits I guess, either that, or they don't know about it." Karira said and then giggled as she ran towards the waves in her pink bikini, the seagulls giving their usual call right above. "Come on, who cares about the press, let's go have some fun!"

Kagome smiled, feeling more alive than she did in the past few weeks. Running towards the sea underneath the hot sun in her two piece swim suit, she laughed as she reached the sea, making footprints in the muddy section before the water. "Inu-Yasha, if you don't let go of Sesshomaru, you'll drown him!" She yelled out mindlessly, forgetting for a mere second that she wasn't supposed to be so formal towards him.

"He deserves it for making fun of my boys!" He said with a smirk, laughing as Kagome's face washed with confusion.

"Of your boys?" She asked she waded deeper into the water, squealing as a wave came, soaking her to bone.

Sesshomaru gasped for air as he finally broke the surface, punching away Inu-Yasha's hand in his surprise. "His boys... down there." He said, pointing to Inu-Yasha below the waist.

Kagome blushed bright pink before bursting into laughter. "Oh, I see..." she said between giggles.

"You both are so immature." Karira murmured before grabbing Kagome's hand and pulling her deeper into the water. "Let's go play tag against the waves!" she said with a huge grin on her face.

"Sure, you're it!" Kagome said, tagging Karira before she got a chance to react. Laughing as Karira yelled out a 'hey!' Kagome swam further away from Karira as she came furiously after her.

"Hey! We're playing too!" Sesshomaru yelled out, making a big splash as he dove into the water in a desperate attempt to run away from the ever so furious Inu-Yasha. Laughing devilishly as a big wave came, throwing everyone off track from where they were, he was about to dive underwater to hide when he felt a pat on his back.

"You're it." Karira's sweet and sugary voice said before vanishing underwater.

_x.x _

It took them quite a while, but after at least a whole hour of playing in the water, the whole bunch of four had finally called it quits and were now resting on the private shore of the beach. Inu-Yasha was laying down flat on his back on the rocks alongside the waves, though Kagome, Karira and Sesshomaru decided to rest on the sand instead.

"I miss Rin... I wonder where she is anyway." Sesshomaru murmured from his spot on the beach.

"Go find her dummy." Inu-Yasha yelled out, picking up a rock and throwing it at Sesshomaru's head.

"Screw you!" Sesshomaru barked back, taking the rock and throwing it back at Inu-Yasha, but due to the fact he was lying on a rock much higher than where Sesshomaru lay, it missed by an inch.

"I'm not gay." Inu-Yasha replied with a chuckle as the girls groaned.

"I have the most immature brothers in the world." Karira mourned, sitting up as Kagome yawned from her spot.

"It's okay, the feelings mutual." Kagome said with a chuckle and not soon after, both of them had burst up laughing.

"What's so funny?" Inu-Yasha asked, peering at them innocently in a peek.

Sesshomaru shrugged. "Women."

"That pretty much explains it all."

"_Hey!" _ both of them yelling it out at once, Inu-Yasha had to flatten his ears as each one started to boast out negative things about men.

"I'm going to go to the hut to grab a shake." Inu-Yasha said, interrupting them both mindlessly as sat up, revealing a nicely tanned chest. "Anyone coming?"

"Kagome, I don't want to get up, could you go and get me a strawberry smoothie?" Karira asked, startling Kagome with her question, "Pretty please?" she asked again, making the cutest puppy dog eyes she could sustain, hoping to god Kagome would accept.

"If it's okay with Inu-Yasha," Kagome said, giving into Karira with a sigh. Looking up at Inu-Yasha, she saw him glance towards her for a second before shrugging.

"Doesn't matter." He said as he got up, looking away immediately as if to avoid her gaze.

Leaning in close to Kagome, Sesshomaru lowered his tone so what he said was only able to be heard by Kagome. "In his language, that means a yes." He said with a small smile, emitting a small chuckle as Kagome grumbled incoherent words as she blushed a slight shade of pink, which was almost impossible to see.

Getting up, she brushed off the sand from her legs and jumped on the rock which Inu-Yasha was standing on so they could make their way to the path which was right beside them. Both making their way to the trail silently, Kagome yawned as the sun pressed down on them.

"Sun makes me sleepy." She said in an attempt to start a conversation so she could let out the thought which had been bugging her for a quite a while now.

Inu-Yasha glanced towards her from the corner of his eyes in surprise to hear her talk to him. This was surprising... that was the first sentence she had said to him which didn't exactly relate to a diss someway or another since two years! Shrugging, he looked over to the sea as they walked down the trail. "Feh."

Kagome looked up to him for a second. That was a good sign; at least he hadn't said something like... 'Well, fall asleep then'. "Taking in a deep breath, Kagome looked towards the trees on the other side of her before talking. "Uhm, well, thanks."

"Huh?" Snapping his head towards her direction, he widened his eyes as he twitched his ears. "Thanks for what?"

"For saving me a week ago." She took in a deep breath and fiddled with her hands as they reached the docks, one of the pathways leading toward the huts. "I know it was practically your fault to begin with," She heard him growl at that, though continued anyway. "But even so and so, I wouldn't be alive if not for you either."

Inu-Yasha stuffed his hands in his pockets, glancing towards the direction they were heading at just for a second before returning his gaze back towards the sea. "Uh, well, I'm sorry for, uh... that."

She raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

He flinched. Shit... that came out wrong. _For what happened two years ago. _"For what happened a week ago." He snapped out, mentally slapping himself as he said the wrong dialect again.

"Oh, for _that_." Kagome said, annoyance building up in her again. If they were exchanging 'sorries' and 'thankyous' right now, couldn't he have just apologized for what happened two years ago?

"There isn't anything else to apologize for anyway." Inu-Yasha blurted out in order regain his dignity.

"Oh _really_?" Kagome retorted, venom dripping from every word, anger distinctively evident from her voice.

Inu-Yasha hesitated, sensing the building annoyance and anger within her. "Yup..."

"_I see_." Kagome growled out, fisting her hands tightly. Not even bothering to glance at him due to the fact she felt like once again, chopping his head off, she quickened her pace and walked right past him.

Inu-Yasha sighed with frustration as she walked past him, obviously angry for the reason both of them knew. "Ah, but, wait!" he yelled out, reaching out to grab her wrist, not noticing the dent in the wooden dock bellow him.

Letting out a yelp as his foot got caught in the dent, he pushed all his weight in front of him, unfortunately pulling Kagome down as he stumbled in a fall. As they both crashed down, Inu-Yasha being the one falling down on top Kagome, they both let out a trail of curses as Kagome's back fell heavily onto the wood below and Inu-Yasha himself falling heavily on top of her.

Inu-Yasha grumbled as his hair fell casually over her shoulders and onto the ground below, his face coming dangerously close to hers as he tried to regain himself from the shock.

Kagome groaned as she tried to breathe underneath his weight, **_damn_** he was heavy! "You clumsy ass!" She snapped out as he brought up his hands to push himself up.

"Don't blame me! You were the one running off for no reason!" He snapped back and glared down at her, entrapping her brown orbs with his golden ones.

"I have every right to run away if you piss me off!" she yelled and brought her hands up to push against his bare chest, trying to ignore the beautifully tanned skin tone.

"How the fuck did I piss you off?!" He yelled back, refusing to get up until the matter was resolved.

"You bloody well know how you pissed me off so get _off_ of me!" She yelled and made another desperate attempt to push him off but he refused. "Ugh, well, excuse me, if anyone passes by, waddaya think they're gonna imagine if they see you lying on top of me, refusing to get off with your long hair disallowing them to see what's actually going on!?"

He blinked innocently. "How would I know?"

"THEY'RE GONNA THINK WE'RE KISSING YOU DUMBASS!" She yelled and gave another furious push, and this time, Inu-Yasha was willing to jump right off of her.

"I already have a girlfriend." He stuttered out, brushing away imaginary dust off from his chest.

"No one asked you." Kagome pointed out dully, and continued walking down the path as if nothing had happened, though the bright blush on her cheeks told otherwise.

As both of them reached the hut, both of them ordered what they needed, and walked back to the beach without a single word to each other, neither of them aware of the photographer taking pictures of every single moment of them being together.

_x.x_

"Ah! Today was great!" Rin said as she stretched her arms at the table bench they were eating dinner at. "Though I barely saw you, Fluffy!"

Sesshomaru blushed a daze of red as Inu-Yasha snickered at his nickname. "I tried finding you, but the beach was so big, it was a little impossible."

Rin pouted as she poked the chicken sandwich with her fork. "Oh well."

Sesshomaru panicked as he sensed the disappointment in Rin's voice. "I don't know what was wrong with me, I mean, a beauty like you stands out anywhere." He stumbled out, ignoring the 'awww' coming from Kagome and Karira at his statement.

Smiling brightly at his declaration, Rin left her food and encircled Sesshomaru's arm, giving his arm a big hug. "You're so sweet..." she said and kissed him on the cheek lightly, making him blush even more as his mother laughed sweetly at the little act.

"Dinner first, then you both can go do your lovey dovey stuff somewhere else." Mr. Taisho pointed out, scorching down the sandwich without any complaints. "The moon looks quite nice today." He said out of no where, nudging towards the sky with his fork.

Kagome nodded in appreciation as she looked up at the dark night sky, spotting the moon in between the stars. "By the way, can someone tell Inu-Yasha to pass the jug of water?"

Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyebrows at her cold voice. "Can someone tell that wench that I can't be bothered to?"

Feeling annoyance hitch up in her throat once again, she glared at Inu-Yasha roughly. "Can someone tell Inu-Yasha to pass the jug or else I'll kick him hardly in the knee?" She replied.

Inu-Yasha slit his eyes, since the morning incident, she hadn't said a word to him, and now, neither of them were talking to each other and if a word need to be said, it was said rather... formerly. "Can someone tell that pestering bitch that even if she tried to kick me, it wouldn't hurt – OW!" He winced and dropped his fork as Kagome's foot hit his knee sharply, pain scorching throughout his leg instantly.

"Hmph, tell Inu-Yasha to take back his words!" She said and glared at Inu-Yasha as he swore out loud.

"Well tell _her _that I'd take back my words if I died and got eaten by a fairy tale monster!"

"Oh god, please let that happen..."

"You two _shut up_!" Karira yelled out, hitting Inu-Yasha upside the head, making him spit out the water he just drank. "Here," She took the jug and passed it to Kagome, glaring at Inu-Yasha hardly. "God! See, it just took a second."

"Feh." Inu-Yasha remarked as he went back to eating his dinner, both of them giving each other one final glare before going back to eating.

They were midway through finishing their dinner when a waiter came up to their table underneath the tree with a silver bowl. "Excuse me presence," he said and lowered the bowl to Kagome. "The manager decided that this was something you'd rather see than pass."

Scrunching her face in confusion, Kagome took the newspaper which was inside of the bowl and opened it up quickly. "I don't really read... oh my gosh!" she yelled out and stared at the newspaper with horror.

Everyone sitting around the table diverted their attention to Kagome, even Inu-Yasha who had mentally decided never to look towards her again.

"What happened?" Rin asked worriedly as she noticed the loss of color in her cheeks.

"This can't be happening..." Kagome murmured as she stared at the newspaper, her insides churning with worry, nervousness and panic. "It just can't!"

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow and snatched the newspaper away from her, scanning the front page quickly, his eyes widening at the contents he saw.

On the front page was a picture of him holding Kagome's wrist, and instead of it looking like Kagome running away from Inu-Yasha because he 'fucking pissed her off', it looked more like she was holding his hand and pulling him towards the hut by the angle the picture was taken by.

Not only that, but below that picture was another one of him and Kagome, but this time, it was when they had tripped, and by the way the picture was taken, it _did_ look like they were making out and last but not least, the picture on the bottom was one where they both had smoothies in their hands, making the whole scenario seem like they had been on a date.

He gulped and read the content of the page.

'_The weather may be starting to get hot, but something else seems like it's building up heat too. Surprisingly, what seemed to be a normal vacation to an Island became something else. The Limo which had been seen entering the famous Taisho's villa earlier seemed to hold someone none other than, Inu-Yasha Taisho's long term girlfriend! They both were spotted walking together on the Island, talking, drinking smoothies and of course, sharing kisses. Now who could this girl be? She's not an actor, singer, or a celebrity to be exact. Taking the pictures to a police department, she's been identified as "Kagome Higurashi", a normal teenage high school girl. Maybe it was love at first sight or maybe more but by the looks of it; these two are very close...' _

Kagome banged her head silently against the table as Inu-Yasha threw down the newspaper, allowing others to read it. "This isn't fair..."

"Oh my god..." Mrs. Taisho's voice came as she read the headlines along with the content.

"I thought no one knew we were going to be here!" Karira yelled out after having a look at the page. "What the hell?"

It was out. Everyone knew, Sango must've read the newspaper and so must've Ayame. "This is a sickening turn of events." Kagome whimpered as she thought about the consequences. She could only just imagine the havoc erupting up at home.

It was no longer a secret.

"The whole world knows that I know the Taisho's..." She whimpered as chaos began right there and then.

_x.x_

**There you go! Pretty long may I point out... **

**I'll try updating faster next time but I hope you enjoyed this chapter... hehehe, the plot's only just started, so sit back and relax, I've got more evilness to add.**

**So review and tell me what you thought about it! **

**For now... I have to run, so toodles! **


	11. A Kiss is just a Kiss

... **Oh my... so many people called the ending of Chapter Ten a cliffhanger...**

**You must be kidding me! That was in no way intended to be a cliffhanger in any perspective, wow!**

**And YES – this IS an Inu-Yasha/Kagome fic. D **

**Anyway... because I noticed that I was 'killing' some readers for leaving my chapters continuously in a sort of edging tendency; I decided to update quickly, Enjoy! **

..................

**Chapter Eleven**

**A Kiss is just a Kiss **

..................

Kagome groaned as she was pulled straight out of her bench chair and at once pushed forward by Sesshoumaru. "We have to go back to the mansion; I can hear the cars driving up towards us."

Just as said so by Sesshoumaru - a rusty white van with its front mirror bent, giving it a trademark sign pulled up right in front of them, almost crashing into the table. As soon as it screeched to a halt, the side door slid open with a bang and a cameraman with a frustrated woman holding a microphone came rustling out, straightening themselves in time.

"Oh, hello – may we ask you a question?"

Kagome felt her heat take a dangerous leap. This was not good... not good at all.

"No, you may not." Sesshoumaru replied firmly pushing Kagome further ahead in silence, though he didn't get far before a dozen screeching vans and cars came jolting by. At least a half of a hundred reporters came crowding around them, asking the same question over and over again.

Kagome scrunched her eyes as she felt the heat of the camera's flashing burn down on her face and whimpered as she noticed Karira, Rin, Inu-Yasha, Mr. and Mrs. Taisho had all vanished, leaving her alone with Sesshoumaru.

Biting her bottom lip as Sesshomaru tried to push away the reporters, as the blinding flashes coming her way were starting to make her see pink circles everywhere. She felt a pang of worry as she saw a crowd of reporters surrounding Sesshoumaru himself and while she was now facing the other half of the press alone.

"How long have you all been dating?"

"Any plans of getting engaged?"

"Is there a baby on the way?"

Kagome jolted her head towards the woman who had asked the last question – what the hell? Gathering up her courage, she gulped before talking. "No, there aren't any recent plans of getting engaged and there sure isn't a baby coming this way!" she yelled out, almost going deaf at the uproar of her statement.

"_Get _**outta**the_ way!" _

Kagome looked to her side as she saw Inu-Yasha push a cameraman and photographer out of the way, growling as he did so. Not knowing what he was going to do next, she winced as he reached for her and grasped onto her wrist with his claws scraping her skin a little. Just as he did so, the camera's snapped away like crazy, as if catching a priceless moment.

"So the rumors _are_ true!"

"Mister Inu-Yasha Taisho, can you please tell us how you both met?"

"Sir, is this a long term relationship?"

Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyes as he pushed himself through the reporters, dragging Kagome on behind him. Ignoring all the questions and flashes thrown his way, he simply made his way through the crowd, despite all the screaming, pulling and begging.

Just as Kagome thought they would reach fresh air, the crowd ran along with them making all her hopes drench in the pits of her guts.

"By authority, stand back or we'll be forced to take action!"

Kagome took in a deep breath (though she wished she hadn't as all she inhaled was the smell of sweat and bad breath) as she saw a whole handful of security guards start to pull everyone back, making way for Inu-Yasha and Kagome.

It took a mere second for them to reach the black van waiting for them, and she gulped as Inu-Yasha pulled her in not knowing where the hell they were going to be taken. As a security guard outside of the van quickly shut the door, the driver stepped on the engine and the van zoomed out of the hectic status.

"For god's sake, that was uncalled for."

Letting out a big sigh, Kagome rubbed her temples letting the comment Inu-Yasha had just said roll off her side. Flumping backwards on her seat, she let out a long groan while Inu-Yasha clicked on their seatbelts.

After a whole five minutes of just silence, Kagome decided to speak. "This isn't fair..."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "It's your fault, you could've -."

"That's all you care about isn't it?! Whose fault it is and who's it isn't, well I don't care! Nobody moves along in their life if you revolve around 'could've, should've and would've' so drop it!" Glaring at him deathly for a mere second, Kagome snapped her head towards the window and sighed, as she saw nothing but the black window. "And how come I can't see anything outside?"

"Special windows so people can't throw bombs at us and crap." He said shortly, not replying to the heart filled sentence she had stated before.

Kagome sighed as the car fell into elapsed silence. Truth to be told, the day had started off great and now... it just blew right up her face. Nothing could describe the gut churning feeling she had in her guts. Sure, she was slightly happy that the secret was off of her shoulders, but what really worried her was how the outburst from her friends, and family would be.

Closing her eyes and burying her face in her hands, she tried to ignore the nervousness roaming her stomach. Just... what was going to happen from now on? She was smart enough to know that she couldn't go back to her shrine until the outburst died down and she knew that by now that Sango and Ayame had definitely heard the news.

"You okay?"

Kagome lifted her head slowly, glancing towards Inu-Yasha – almost baffled at the question. Even though he had made it sound as gruff as possible, she couldn't help but notice the lace of concern.

"Just worried." She said quietly and sighed again, wondering where the driver was taking them and knowing for sure that the mansion hadn't been this far away. "What's going to happen from now on?"

Inu-Yasha exhaled deeply. "Well, one thing is for sure –that my girlfriends are dumping me."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome shook her head. "I'm not asking what's going to happen to _you_, I'm asking what's going to happen to me!"

"How would I know? I'm not some physic dude; all I know is that right now, we're heading back to the mansion." Looking away, Inu-Yasha reached forward for the mini-refrigerator and took out a can of soda. Popping it open, he gulped it down making his trademark notion that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"But if we were going back to the mansion –." Kagome started but was cut off as Inu-Yasha lowered his soda and sighed, showing clearly that he was annoyed.

"We're just sending the reporters on a wild goose chase. They wont know where we're staying if we go the wrong direction, so all in all, we're going back home, after we run around the island for a while."

Kagome sighed as she looked at the mini-television on the ceiling of the van, _'I guess all I can do is just wait and see...' _

_x.x_

"You both are finally back!" Karira yelled out as she got up from the couch in the living room, running towards Inu-Yasha and Kagome who were standing in the doorway – looking quite tired.

"I never knew sending the reporters on a wild goose chase meant driving around the Island for a whole two hours!" Kagome mumbled, sending a snappy look at Inu-Yasha for a mere second before walking in the mansion and sitting down miserably on the sofa beside her little brother.

"Stuff it, wench" Growling out his words, Inu-Yasha walked in, ignoring the anxious family completely and heading straight for the stairs. "I don't have time for this."

However, his mother spoke up before he got the chance to climb even the first few steps "Hold it right there," she said and coughed as he growled with frustration, limping to a dead stop to his mothers words. "We have to sort this out, so come back here Inu-Yasha."

"Sort _what_ out?" Inu-Yasha spoke back in a pressed voice, careful not to raise his voice with his mother in front of his father.

"You know _completely_ well what I'm talking about, so come back and sit down on the sofa!" Closing the conversation before Inu-Yasha could fit another word in; everyone took their places, Kagome being the one who was most anxious of them all.

Clearing his throat to gain everyone's attention, Mr. Taisho spoke first. "Well, we all know about the whole incident..."

"No duh..." Inu-Yasha murmured as he reached the couch, flopping down beside Kagome.

"Inu-Yasha – shut up!" Sesshoumaru dabbed loudly at Inu-Yasha as he shot out a sarcastic remark, pissing almost everyone off in the room.

Acting as if he hadn't heard anything, Mr. Taisho continued on. "Anyway... now that this is out, the best thing to do is to contact your parents Kagome," he nudged his head towards the phone on the table nearby the couch. "But another problem we have here is... is that people think that Kagome's dating Inu-Yasha."

Looking around to see if anyone objected in any manner, Mr. Taisho continued on as no one spoke a word. "If we go and tell them that Kagome and Inu-Yasha _aren't_ dating, everyone will think Yash' is a whore for getting so close to a woman without any consent of a relationship."

Kagome gulped as she felt everything crashing down around her. She did _not_ like the trail that this conversation was leading onto...

"And if we tell the press that they both _'broke up', _they'll get an impression that the relationship ended just because everyone knew about it, giving my son another bad name." Mr. Taisho cleared his throat before continuing. "So – we have no choice but to-."

"Oh god, please no!" Kagome yelled out before he got to finish. "There is no way I'm going to pretend that I'm his girlfriend! It's not fair for me! It wasn't my fault they got those darned photos-."

"Oh Kagome, but it's a dead end situation if we do anything else," Karira spoke up with pleading eyes. "You both could pretend you're dating until everything cools down, and then when no one cares about it anymore, you could cut it off!"

Kagome was about to speak up but Inu-Yasha butted in before she had a chance to. "What about **_me_**?! Patrisha, Mona, Lilly, Samantha, and all the rest – they'll all break up with me! I'll be single, and I haven't been single for years!"

"Technically, you'll still be dating... you'd have Kagome..." Mrs. Taisho said weakly, hoping to god that this whole idea would work out.

"**_No way_**!" Both Inu-Yasha and Kagome jumped off of their cushioned seats at this, the words spilling out of their mouths at the same time.

"I can barely stand being in the same room as him and now you all are asking me to pretend as if I'm his girlfriend?!" Kagome yelled, pointing a threatening finger at Inu-Yasha.

"It'd be hell acting as if she's my girlfriend, no one would fall for it-."

Before Inu-Yasha got to say another word, Mr. Taisho stood up, silencing everyone in the room. "It's settled then. Until everything cools down, you both are going to pretend as if you're both having a relationship."

"Yeah, a relationship of hate..." Kagome muttered as she got up from the couch, making her way to the stairs without a word.

_x.x_

"Sango, get the popcorn out of the microwave before it blows up!" Ayame yelled from the living room from her seat on the carpet. Sighing, as she heard no reply from Sango, she got up lazily from the carpet and walked hurriedly to the kitchen, pulling open the microwave door before the packet of popcorn burst from the heat. Throwing the packet from hand to hand due to the heat, she quickly ran back to the living room and threw the packet on the carpet.

"Did you say anything Ayame?!" A muffled yell came from upstairs, sounding distinctively like Sango.

Growling, Ayame shook her head. "Forget it."

It took a few minutes or so, but Sango finally came back down to the living room, holding a stack of magazines with an insane smile on her face. "I bought _all_ of these today!"

Ayame squealed, throwing down her pen on the floor, forgetting the papers of homework she was supposed to be working on. Pulling Sango to sit down beside her, she picked up the first magazine. Scanning over the front page, she picked up the second magazine... then the third... then the fourth. "This is weird... how come all of them have something on Inu-Yasha Taisho?"

Sango shrugged. "I don't know, I mean, I was going to school this morning and heard my mom watching a breaking news about Inu-Yasha, I would've stopped to watch but I was going to be late for class."

"...And when we got to school, everyone was talking about Inu-Yasha as well." Ayame pointed out and raised her eyebrows as she noticed every single magazine's front cover had Inu-Yasha's picture on it.

Nevertheless, Sango's face burst into a wide grin. "Anyway, why the hell are we complaining? Let's see what the fuss is about!"

Ayame giggled, "Yeah, thought we lost it there for a while..." shaking her head out of the demoralization, she shuffled through the magazines until she found the one she was looking for. "Aha! Star Weekly!"

Looking at the front cover, Ayame's stomach took a leap as she saw Inu-Yasha reaching out to hold a girl's wrist. "Sango, doesn't she look like Kagome?"

Leaning over to look at what Ayame was pointing at, Sango scrunched her eyebrows as she studied the picture. "Whoa, you're right, she does!" Throwing away the magazine she was currently reading to the right, she shuffled over beside Ayame to look at hers.

Peering closely at the picture, Sango bit her bottom lip. "Well, loads of girls out there could look like her." She said, shrugging coincidently.

Nodding, Ayame read the headline. "Love blooms at last?"

Shaking her head, Sango hurriedly spoke up. "Go to the page of the article... there, page eighteen! Hurry up..." she said, flipping the page to the designated number, somehow having a very bad feeling about this.

Smoothing out the paper as they reached page eighteen, Ayame skimmed the pictures of the page, a dread creeping up her throat as the girl in each picture seemed more and more like their best friend.

"It say's here that Inu-Yasha's been having a secret relationship with that girl." Sango said, pointing to the picture where both of them were holding smoothies.

"But he said he was single..." Ayame mourned silently, not a bit happy with the news, but of course, that wasn't all.

"Here, listen to this..." Sango said, clearing her throat she caught an interesting line. "_Of course, a celebrity does want to have his privacy so due to that reason; the relationship was kept secret. However, a recent incident shows that when reporters went to ask the lady about the love life, a blaze of over protectiveness blared over Inu-Yasha Taisho as he came and pulled her away from the scene. The identity of the secret girlfriend has been revealed and surprisingly, it was discovered that she has no role in the celebrity status, so it's only more proving that this relationship was indeed based on love at first sight. The woman, named..." _

Sango stopped as her breath hitched in her throat, her stomach lurching a deathly 360-degree turn as she read the next two words. It couldn't be...

It was impossible...

But – it was right there, in front of her eyes, pictures to prove it all.

Ayame looked at Sango annoyingly as she didn't continue. "Go on... finish the sentence! Who's the girl?"

Sango gulped, pushing down the lump that had formed in her throat. "Kagome... Kagome Higurashi."

_x.x _

It had been a restless night, even though she wasn't sick anymore, she still couldn't get to sleep. She hated those nights. She was tired, exhausted from the events of the day but the annoying feeling in her stomach kept her awake, disallowing her to fall asleep.

Breathing into her pillow, she whined as she thought about the situation. Mrs. Taisho had called her mom and they had had a long, _long_ conversation and now it was settled that her parents would be arriving at the Villa to stay with them due to the reason that _their _privacy was being ruined. Her mom didn't seem to be bothered by the situation, and when she talked to Kagome on the phone, she just said everything would be fine and there was nothing to worry about.

Apart from that, she also found out that she had just received her pathway to go to the D.A.H.A. Groaning; she turned around to stare at the ceiling. _'So I'm actually going to the awards... what a surprise.'_

Not only that, but they had actually called upon specialists to prepare her for the awards, saying that she needed to know how to act... talk... walk and _smile_ in front of a camera. So tomorrow she would be staying in a room with Inu-Yasha _all_ day, preparing herself for the D.A.H.A awards, and she had a _bad_ feeling about it.

Pulling away her pillow underneath her, she stuffed it down on top of her face blocking out the light so she could fall asleep, which she soon did – after an hour or so.

_x.x_

The next morning wasn't as pleasant either. Waking up to the slam of a door. Kagome groaned as she sat up in bed; sleep still invading the quarters of her mind. Yawning as she rubbed her eyes, Kagome sleepily looked towards the shut door as she heard yelling coming from the corridor. Sighing as she slowly got out of bed, she pinpointed down the yelling to the usual: Inu-Yasha vs. Sesshomaru.

Shaking her head, she stumbled out of her bed. Making her way drowsily to the bathroom, not even bothering to look at the time. Just as soon as she had reached the bathroom door, her door swung open, the knob banging on the wall as it came in contact with it.

"Darn it wench, because of you, I have to wake up at six thirty on the freaking morning!" Inu-Yasha grumbled and rubbed his eyes to relieve himself of the sleepiness coming back to him. "And I'm not going to wait a minute longer for you to get dressed!"

Letting out a scream as he quickly made his way across the room, grabbing her arm to pull her out the door, she tugged back furiously. "Let me brush my teeth at least!"

"Go brush them downstairs!"

"But I'm still in my pajamas!"

"You can change downstairs as well!"

"But...I have to _pee_!"

"Do that in the washroom _downstairs_!"

Closing the conversation at that sentence, he pulled her out of her room despite her yells of protest and dragged her down the corridor. As they reached the staircase, he let out a huff and swept her up in his arms, then leaping from step to step and arriving at the bottom at the time of a mere second.

As he walked over to the dining room door and kicked it open, Sesshomaru sighed as he saw the state in which Kagome had come.

"When I told you to wake her up, I didn't mean for you to drag her out of bed and carry her down here against her will you dumbass." He said and walked over to Inu-Yasha, prying Kagome out of his arms and getting her to stand on her own two feet.

"Feh." Inu-Yasha spat out and walked over to the luxurious red fabricated sofas, flopping down on them miserably.

"Kagome, go hurry up and go get yourself cleaned, and don't worry about changing from your pajamas, you'll be doing enough changing later on in the day anyway." Sesshomaru said, pushing Kagome towards a door nearby which was probably a washroom.

It had taken a while, but after a few good ten minutes of rather impatiently waiting, Kagome had emerged from the washroom, looking fresher than before. "Alright, I'm done, so... Sesshouma... where'd he go?" Looking around furiously, she felt her stomach drop as she noticed he was gone, leaving her alone in the room with the puppy pouted Inu-Yasha.

"He's going to come back when we're done _your_ training." He said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"My training?" She said with confusion, walking to the middle of the dining room, just noticing that all the dining tables and chairs were missing. "Wah?"

"Oh goody, goody good!" A cheerful voice reached her ears from behind her. "So you both are here!"

Turning around to see who was talking, Kagome surprised herself as she saw a cheerful lady walk towards them. Reaching Kagome, she clasped her hands together and giggled, "This is going to be _so_ much fun!"

"Someone fill me in here?" Kagome mused out loud and glanced towards Inu-Yasha for an answer who let out a gruff sigh in return.

"I have to take you to the D.A.H.A awards..." he murmured and then looked away. "So my dad called in a director to tell you what to do and...stuff." Lowering his voice, he trailed off in a number of cusses, confusing Kagome to no end.

"Stuff?" Kagome asked, scrunching her eyebrows in concern but it was all washed away as Karira opened the dining room doors and ran in with an armload of dresses.

"Okay, okay, okay, I got all the dresses!" Running up to the elderly woman, she flopped all the dresses down on the carpet. "It was all I could carry..." she breathed out and then straightened her posture immediately. "Oh my god... this is going to be _so_ much fun!"

Before Kagome could get a word in, the lady clasped her hands together. "Alright, let's get this started." Pushing Kagome back all the way to flop down beside Inu-Yasha, she pulled up a dress. "Hm, so Inu-Yasha, what color suit are you wearing?" She asked, leaning down in front of him so their noses were almost touching.

"Uh... it's black..." He said and the lady pulled back instantly.

"What color tie?" She mused out, wafting her hands through the numerous dresses Karira had dropped down on the carpet.

"Navy blue..." He replied, raising an eyebrow as the lady nodded her head furiously.

"Aha! Well, that means, Kagome... try this dress on,"

Not knowing what to do until a dress came flying her way, Kagome caught the dress in her hands before it hit her face. About to get up to change, she let out a yell as the lady threw three more dresses her way.

"Try those three on as well..."

"Alright," Getting up, she headed towards the washroom once again to change when a question popped in her mind. "Wait, why am I trying on these dresses for?"

Letting out a loud snort, the lady looked up from her search on the ground. "Well, _duh_, you're trying them on so you know what to wear to the D.A.H.A!"

Kagome blinked. "But the awards aren't till next week,"

"So?" Echoed Karira, who had disappeared for the past few minutes and was now, seen pushing in a railing of clothes. "I picked out my dress a month ago. You always need to know what you're wearing because if you ruin your first dress in any way, you need to have a backup dress."

Trying to process all the information, Kagome decided to leave it perfect and go along with what everyone was saying.

And so, the hour began, dress after dress, heels after heels and necklaces after necklaces. The time seemed to stop to a deadend, as Kagome took in another dress to change one after another, no dresses seeming to be the perfect one.

Two stylists had arrived, bringing in two more railings of clothes, making it even more tiring for Kagome as the lady kept yelling out orders such as _'We'll find a dress for you even if it means spending hours at it!'_

It seemed like three whole hours had passed until Kagome finally emerged from the washroom wearing a dress, which astounded everyone.

It was navy blue in color, just like Inu-Yasha's tie yet it was a tad lighter. The fabric lengthened up to her knees where the color changed to a starry night blue. A silver string was tied loosely around her waist, the knot at a diamond on the hip, which led down a stylish slit. The neck of the dress was in a large curve coming down from each shoulder and to top it off, she was wearing a million dollar worth diamond necklace with matching high heels.

"Uh... like it?" She asked, doing a small twirl for the audience.

"Best one so far and best one I think there is!" The lady beamed, "So Inu-Yasha, what do you think of it?" Looking over to Inu-Yasha, she smirked as she saw him fidget in his chair.

"Whatever..." He spat out and looked away before Kagome could glance at him.

"So it's settled, Kagome – you're going to wear that dress to the awards with Inu-Yasha," Karira squealed out and looked at both of them. "Aww... you both would look _so_ adorable."

Shaking her head with annoyance, Kagome smiled and looked at herself in the mirror. "What if I lose the necklace?" She asked nervously, knowing the price of the valuable jewel.

"It's only worth a million, not much." Karira said simply, waving away the thought as if it were nothing.

Trying to regain from the shock of calling a million dollar worth necklace 'not much', Kagome did her best to walk in the high heels, only managing to fall down just as soon as she walked her first step.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" A head popped over her, staring down intensely.

"I don't have much experience with heels..." Kagome groaned out weakly and got up, rubbing her bum in the process. "Oh shut up Inu-Yasha." She shot out as she noticed the snickering he was doing.

"Not my fault!" He fought back innocently, raising his hand up for defense. "It's just that you're the first girl _I've_ seen who doesn't know how to walk in heels."

"Hey, it's not my problem if I don't like to walk in slanted shoes that hurts my knees!" Sticking her tongue out at Inu-Yasha, Kagome straightened her posture and allowed Karira to help her walk in the heels, also ignoring the mused expression plastered on the lady's face.

Sending a glare towards the lady because she wouldn't stop staring, Kagome narrowed her eyes as the lady continued to watch, bemused.

Then it clicked.

"Oh, I forgot you both were _pretending_ to be a couple... never mind." She said, letting out a hearty laugh and then continued to proceed towards Kagome who had once again been flopped down beside Inu-Yasha. "Alright, let's continue on... first of all, when someone asks for a picture, Inu-Yasha – you must encircle your arm around her waist and when you're walking down the red carpet, stay _close_!"

"But I don't know how to walk in heels!" Kagome yelled out before the lady had a chance to continue.

"That's why we're going to take away all your sandals and joggers and replace them with heels so you can practice all weak." She smiled warmly at her and then continued, despite Kagome's mortified expression. "And Kagome, try not to be seen flirting with another man, same goes with you, Inu-Yasha." She stopped as he raised an eyebrow. "I mean, don't flirt with another woman Inu-Yasha, because you both are supposed to be dating _each other_."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to process all the information the woman was trying to force into her. She seemed to go on...and on... and on, only stopping to take a breath here and there.

"Inu-Yasha, when you win an award during the D.A.H.A, before you get up, give Kagome a light kiss on the cheek." She said, sending a smile towards Inu-Yasha.

Kagome took in a nervous breath. Was it just her, or did the whole room just seem to tense after she had said that? Taking a gulp and refusing to look at Inu-Yasha, she leaned back on the sofa and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Why, is there a problem with that?" The lady asked, peering at both of their faces for an expression as neither one replied. "Fine... why don't we practice kissing right now then eh?"

"What?!" Kagome yelled out, almost choking on her own voice. Inu-Yasha seemed to be affected by the declarative demand as well as both of his ears swiveled towards the woman at that comment.

"Well, if you both are going to pretend to be dating, there has to be some kissing... now _come_ on... both of you get up, chop, chop!" She waved her hands in front of them, forcing them to get up. As neither of them made any intention of getting up, she reached forward and pulled them up, surprising both of them by her strength.

Forcing both of them to face each other, she stepped forward. "Alright, now Inu-Yasha, put your arms around her waist."

Inu-Yasha hesitated, and was about to let out a loud cuss and just step back when the elderly lady grabbed his arms and encircled them around Kagome's waist who stiffened at the intimacy.

Inu-Yasha had to hold in a breath as he settled his hands on her waist, making sure his sharp claws didn't rip the fabric in any way as he tried to clear his head off of all thoughts except one: _Just get this over with. _

Looking at them both, the woman sighed. "Aw, come on you two, if neither one has any passion for each other, then a kiss is just a kiss, nothing more, so get it over with!"

Kagome gulped and looked up at Inu-Yasha, raising her hands to settle them on his shoulders.

Taking in a deep yet silent breath before the kiss, Inu-Yasha lowered his lips to meet hers, the contact bringing in too many memories for both their minds all at once.

Pulling back immediately after exactly three seconds of the kiss, Inu-Yasha drove back his hands into his pockets and turned away to hide the pink tint on his cheeks. "Uh, I'm going to go eat... I'll be back in a few minutes." He said and ran out of the dining room just as soon as he had finished talking.

Kagome let out a nervous breath and then walked towards the washroom. "I'll go get changed back into my own... uh... pajamas." Shutting the bathroom door behind her, Kagome took in a deep breath and tried to calm down her guts.

Taking off her clothes and pulling back on her bedtime shirt, she bit her bottom lip. "That reaction was definitely not needed." She murmured out, remembering the jitters that had coursed throughout her body at the kiss as she pulled back on her bedtime pants.

Back outside in the dining room, the woman looked back at Karira. "Let me guess, they both have a memorable past together?"

"Oh, you have no idea..." Karira scoffed as she shook her head, not noticing the tape recorder recording everything from the bottom of the sofa.

_x.x_

**See! I told you I wasn't lying when I said I'll update fast! Teehee! **

**Right, so this chapter was cut in half, mostly because if I didn't cut it in half, it would be...way... too...freaking... long! **

**So review and tell me what you thought about it and hmm, let's see, what can you expect in the next chapter? – Well, let me tell you at least this much – let the drama begin! **

**Just to everyone who hasn't figured it out yet, I'm a big... fan of – DRAMA! **

**ALSO – thanks to 'Shadow Assassin' for editing this chapter! **


	12. A Kiss is Just a Kiss, Pt 2

**I apologize (once again) for the late update. I've had health issues which I'd rather not discuss thus finishing up chapter twelve was not an option for the past few weeks, creating the delay. **

**Wow, I got my first death threat, can't say it was pleasant yet it took me by surprise. So because I'm currently in a semi-cheery mood, I'll put it down easily – telling me that'll you'll kill me won't make me write faster, so stop.**

**By the way, I'd like to thank 'Manuca' for being my 500th reviewer! **

**One more point before I stop rambling. I changed the rating from PG-13, to R. Seeing that so many fics. are being deleted and that 'Being Backstage' _does _contain swearing from here to there and abusive innuendo, I'd rather play on the safe side than toeing the edge. **

………………

**Chapter Twelve**

**A Kiss is Just a Kiss, pt. 2**

………………

"_Kagome?!"_

Snatching the magazine straight out of Sango's hand, Ayame scurried her eyes across the content disbelievingly. Her mouth slowly dropped open as she widened her eyes. "WHAT!****They've got this all wrong! Kagome's the girl WE know. The girl we went to elementary school with, the girl who was our closest friend in middle school and the girl who's our best friend in high school!"

Sango picked up another magazine and flipped it open, shaking her head with mortal shock as she saw pictures which showed Kagome's face clearly. "Kagome's not supposed to be in Demon Wood! She's supposed to be in Tokyo with her parents!"

"This is _crazy!_" Throwing the magazine down, Ayame put a hand to her forehead.

After moments worth of silence, Sango widened her eyes it realization. "It all makes sense now."

Looking at Sango, Ayame raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Don't you see? Kagome never swooned over Inu-Yasha, she always said he was an ass and what he did was a big fat lie, and of course she would say that. She talked about him as if she'd met him and she had. From what all these articles are saying, she met a _long _time ago."

Ayame shook her head. "But that won't make sense. You missed a point there, and you said it yourself – she never swooned over him, she never _liked_ him… so -."

"We need to talk to Kagome about this." Cutting off Ayame directly, Sango sighed and then shook her head, dismayed. "I just can't believe she would hide that from us."

Glancing at Sango before reaching into her pant pocket to take out her mini calendar, Ayame flipped it open and peered closely to the small numbers and dates. "I think I know how we can contact Kagome."

Jumping beside Ayame to see what she was looking at, Sango looked down to the event Ayame was pointing at. Frowning, Sango scoffed. "Ayame, how the hell are we going to go to the D.A.H. awards?" Before Ayame could reply, Sango hit her upside the head lightly. "Maybe it's different for you, but I'm not allowed to fifteen hundred dollars on tickets."

Rubbing her head and sending a glare towards Sango, Ayame shook her head. "We won't _have_ to pay; we'll just be the first people to wait alongside the red carpet. And when Kagome hopefully comes to the awards with Inu-Yasha, she'll spot us and that way, her guilt will have her coming to us one way or another."

Biting her bottom lip, Sango shook her head. "That might work, but there's another problem… how the hell are we going to reach the D.A.H awards in the first place? They're being held all the way Demon Wood, and that's a twelve hour drive!"

Groaning, Ayame flopped down on the carpet. "Do you think Mrs. Higurashi is still at the shrine?"

"No… but Kagome's Grandpa probably will." Sango murmured as she saw the complete hopelessness plastered over her friend's face.

A smile lit across Ayame's face. "Let's go talk to him then."

_x.x _

Tick.

Blinking blindly as she stared at the wall, Kagome let the breeze wafting through the open window of the room to play mindlessly with her let down hair.

Tock.

Closing her eyes, she raised her hands to her ears in an attempt block out the annoying ticking of the clock. It seemed like time just seemed to stand still for the moment. It was seven-thirty, the sun was just setting down and all she had done in the last hour and a half was stare at the wall hopelessly while her mind went off and day-dreamt about pathetic issues she'd rather not bring up again.

Tick.

Blinking to relieve herself of her daze, she glared at the clock. It never shut up did it? Sighing, she reached over and grabbed it, stuffing the object underneath her bed along with the other annoying appliances that had bothered her previously.

After Inu-Yasha had left the dining room, she had left to get changed – coming back only to see the dining room completely vacant. Deciding that everyone decided to call it a day, she went outside for the first time in many hours to get some fresh air.

Only to end up deciding she would rather stay inside because it was starting to get dark.

Stifling a yawn as tiredness suddenly washed over her, she sat up straight when she heard a strong tap on her window. Turning her head quickly towards the window, she furrowed her eyebrows as she saw a deep crack on the frame.

She was walking over to the window when she saw another pebble come flying towards it.

Not taking any time to think over the situation, she ran to the window and swung it open, leaning over the ledge to see who was throwing pebbles at her window. Seeing no one in sight, she made an exasperated face. "Come out wherever you are!"

"Meet me at the beach!"

Taken by surprise, it took her time to retaliate. "What the… why would I… who are you!?" She grumbled as she strained her eyes to see where the voice was coming from, _damn the dark!_

"I've got a message from your friends," the man yelled back. "I shouldn't stay around or I'll be caught."

Kagome widened her eyes at the mention of her friends… so they knew? "Why don't you come up? I'll allow you in -."

"No!" He cut her off, pressure building up in his tone at the mention of what she had said. "Come if you want the message."

"No really, it'll be okay if you come up…" Leaning over a bit more in order to see more clearly, she bit her lip as she heard no reply. "Are you still there?"

Obviously not.

Pushing her hair over her shoulder, Kagome left the window immediately and ran for the door. She hadn't heard from her friends in ages, and knowing that they knew that _she _had known the Taisho's only made her more nervous.

Not thinking twice about her own safety and that she was blindly running towards a stranger she had just met a few seconds ago and not only that, but had only talked to him curtly, Kagome ran down the stairs of the mansion and out of the front door, running towards the beach as fast as she could.

As she reached the shore, she looked around, thankful for the lights that had been lit upon the beach, assuring that people could still see in the dark. Stepping onto the sand, she noticed the tide was about to arrive.

Looking to the side, her guts starting to tell her that it had all been a prank, she lit up instantly as she saw a figure run behind the rocks she had been relaxing on a few days ago. Running after him, she called out for him to stop as she reached the rocks, just noticing that he was leading her far away from the mansion.

"Just a little further." He yelled back, his face still hidden by darkness as he had put the hood of his sweater (despite the warm weather) over his head. "Come on."

Hesitating, Kagome was about to run after him when the light from a nearby lamp reflected some shine off from the object hanging loosely from his waist. Realizing what it was, she halted to a dead stop. "A knife." She whispered, one name coming to her mind. "Naraku?"

The man stopped, turning around to face her. At once, his posture cracked. Giggling madly, he pulled off the hood. "Ah yes, you've figured it out!"

Fear sprang into every corner of her body. How could she have been so dumb!? She had been running after a stranger at night, not even stopping to think of the fact of how dangerous it was. Trying not to break under his maniacal gaze, she stuttered a tad as she talked. "Ni-nice to meet you again…"

Walking up to Kagome, frowning as he saw she took a step back as he took a step forward, his eyes shone. "Of course it is," his frown deepening as he spoke, "Odd that I see you everywhere Inu-Yasha goes, isn't it?"

Every nerve in her body told her to run, yet something about the trail of which his words were going froze her in her spot. "Mere coincidence, that's all…" She brushed on measly, forgetting that the whole _world _currently thought that she was dating Inu-Yasha.

"I'm not stupid." He drawled out, slitting his eyes into a catlike look as he glared at Kagome. "I told you before; I don't like people who _know _Inu-Yasha. I especially don't like people who _Inu-Yasha_ knows… for example: You."

Kagome caught her breath in her throat, almost shaking with fear. Yet, she wanted to know what he had to say, in a way – if she missed it, she'd feel more in danger. "What're you going to do about it?" She said, dropping the nice act, going on defensive.

He smiled freakishly, raising the hairs on the back of Kagome's neck at once. "Glad you brought it up."

That was enough to drive Kagome off the edge. Turning around at once, all thoughts of figuring out his plan pushed out of her mind completely – she made a run for it. Stumbling in her run, a thump of fear hit her chest as she felt her knees wobble as if they had just awoken from numbness. Just as she had reached the halfway point of the beach, she yelled as Naraku grabbed her arm, swinging her around. Slipping in the sand, she fell clumsily on her back.

Leaning down over her, Naraku squinted mushily. "Caught you!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. "Let me go."

"I can't." Smirking, he pushed her down as he quickly drew out his knife. "Remember this?" Trying to pull out of his hold furiously, Kagome stopped her breath as he shone knife in front of her eyes, slowly bringing it down to her neck, the cold metal pressing down sharply. "Now if you don't do me a favor, I won't bother thinking twice before using this."

Gulping, she thought for a split second. "Sure!" She spat out, her life meaning more to her than anything else at the moment.

His eyes shining with delight, he smiled freakishly. "You're going to be my key into the Taisho's villa -." He breathed heavily, the excitement of it all getting to his head. "You'll allow me in and…and…" He nodded his head furiously. "Introduce me to Inu-Yasha."

"F-fine just let me go!" Just as soon as he drew the knife back into his belt pocket, Kagome pushed her arms across his chest furiously, throwing him off. Pushing herself upwards, she sat as her body pushed her weight onto her hands. He didn't take time to scramble up, and just as soon as he was standing over her, his eye twitched.

"You'll break up with Inu-Yasha and force him to date me!" Taking a few steps back, he laughed maniacally, "I'll come again," Snorting, he nodded furiously, "You're tied around my finger now!"

And with that, he ran away.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at his scrambling figure and not soon after, she collapsed onto the sand, staring up at the night sky. Breathing quickly, she shook her head and swallowed her spit. That guy was a freak. A nutcase. _He probably took some crack, making him go all crazy…_

Her heart was hammering crazily against her rib cage. Even though she'd rather think that he only came after her because he had gotten drunk someway or another, she still couldn't deny she had been scared to death.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she took in deep breaths – trying to calm herself down.

Minutes passed by and Kagome let out a deep breath. "Just… forget about that guy…" She whispered to herself and shook her head in order to shake off the remaining feelings. Opening her eyes to look at the sky, her heart having to finally slow down to a normal pace, she studied the stars. Searing her eyes across the blanket of darkness, she tried to spot the constellations – naming a few as she took note of them.

A warm breeze passed by over her, bringing a smile upon her face. It was just these small moments which made life seem great again. Taking note of the sound of the waves not so far away from, she shuddered as a cooler breeze reached her way.

"What the hell you doing down there?"

Blinking before turning her head to see who had called out to her, she frowned as she saw the seed of her problem. Inu-Yasha. Shrugging, she ignored him and decided to continue on with her star gazing.

"Women." Rolling his eyes as he shook his head, Inu-Yasha walked down the rest of the pavement to reach the beach. Throwing off his joggers, he glanced towards Kagome for a mere second before walking casually towards her.

Rolling over on her stomach to play with the sand, Kagome looked up at Inu-Yasha. "What do you want?"

"I just came to play in the water." He said with a smirk and sat down beside Kagome.

Kagome scoffed. "In the night?"

Pulling off his socks, he shrugged. "Why not?"

Letting his reply roll off her back, she continued playing with the sand, not noticing as he glanced at her.

"Did something happen?"

Picking up some sand in her hand, she felt her stomach tighten as what had just happened minutes ago flashed through her mind. Feeling as if Naraku just may be watching from behind her, she glanced over her shoulder before responding. "Not… really- I mean, no… uh… not at all."

Throwing his socks over to the side, he started working on his shirt. "Liar."

Sending a glare towards Inu-Yasha, she sighed. "When did you start to care anyway?"

"Jeez, you PMS'ing or something -." He started but was silenced as Kagome threw dry sand in his face.

"For gods sake, _never_ ask a girl that!" and then after thinking over it for a second she added, "By the way, I'm not." Muttering something under her breath, she got up, ready to leave. Just as soon as she had taken a step, she let out a small scream as Inu-Yasha swept her off the ground. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I guess I forgot to mention I'd need someone to play with…" he smirked as he saw her horrified face.

"No – don't you dare – I swear, _eek!_" She let out a squeal as he dropped her in the wet sand, her t-shit and jeans becoming completely dirty as the mud sank in. Biting her lip as her hands sand in the wet mud, she was about to get up when Inu-Yasha pinned her to the ground.

"This is for throwing the sand at my face." He said with a snicker.

Just as she realized what was going on, the wave came sweeping up onto her.

Too late.

Gasping as the cold water soaked her clothes to her skin, she got up and pushed her wet behind her shoulders. "Inu-Yasha!"

Laughing, he released his grip and ran into the water, paddling as far as he could from Kagome.

Glaring, Kagome got up and rolled up her jeans and simply took off her shirt before jumping into the water after him. "Ugh, I'll get you for that!"

"Last time I remembered, you were just learning how to swim… so in your dreams Ka- uh… I mean, well – in your dreams!" He slapped himself mentally as he noticed he almost said her name… god… what was in him right now?

Not noticing what had happened, Kagome swiftly swam up to him, disappearing underneath water just as he turned around to see where she was. Gliding up to him, she popped up on the surface of the water and grabbed his ears, pulling him down underwater.

"Shit!" Yelping as he felt himself being tugged backwards and the sea engulfing his body, he shut his mouth just before the salty water could enter his body.

"That's for getting me wet in the night!" Kagome yelled at him as he pulled away from her grasp and jumped up behind her.

Inu-Yasha smirked, and before he could control it, he started laughing.

Smiling truly for the first time in his presence, Kagome giggled as she noticed just what she had gotten herself into.

Maybe it was because he knew she had been in danger just a few minutes before he had arrived… or probably because of what had happened just several hours ago… but he just didn't feel like fighting with her this time…

Shaking his head and stepping to the side as he felt sea weed glide by his leg, he sighed and looked up at the moon. "So… what _really_ happened before I came?"

Kagome took in a deep breath and glanced at him before disappearing underneath the water. Appearing just seconds later in front of him, she narrowed her eyes. "Forget it okay?"

"Hmmm… why don't I guess then?" He leaned in, surprising Kagome as he came too close for comfort. "Meeting a secret boyfriend?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, and met him straight in the eye. "Sorry… but no."

"Hmmm…" He studied her face. "Blackmailing someone into _getting_ you a secret boyfriend?"

Kagome let out an exasperated sigh. Letting sarcasm drop like venom on her every word, she replied drastically. "Oh, _bingo_!"

Inu-Yasha smirked. "I thought so." Drawing himself closer to her, his hands settled on her waist. Maybe it was just the moonlight…

"Uh… and… uhm…" Kagome felt her face blush beet red as she realized the tension between them heat up, "I… think, I've gotta… uhm…" Her voice stopped in her throat as he lowered his face. Maybe she could let it slip… it was probably just for the media… they both were acting this out… right?

"You've got to…?" He asked as he drew his face in even closer, their noses almost touching.

She could barely breathe, let alone speak. "I've got to… got to... go…"

His mind was a bog. What the fuck was he doing? It wasn't his fault… _she _was the one who always got him into these big webs… "You've got to go where…?"

Kagome would've answered if he hadn't dipped down and kissed her right then and there.

Her mind went completely blank. Not knowing what the hell to do, lost in a state of shock, she simply pulled him closer, wincing as his claws scraped her waste by their intensity.

It was as if a heavy load in his chest just disappeared as he felt her tugging him closer to her body, only to be replaced by another, this time – much heavier. Locking his arms behind her back so she couldn't get away, he bit her bottom lip, growling with content as he delved inside her mouth with his tongue.

Kagome felt her body heat up by the heavy breathing, and her face burned bright red from the intensity. Whimpering as he pulled back for a second to take a breath, she mindlessly reached forward to catch his mouth again in a hot kiss.

Torture. That's what he would call it. Pure torture. There was simply no other word for it. How could she affect him this way? Making the kiss deeper, he barely noticed what he was doing. He had no idea what the hell was going on, and if he had a choice, he'd rather it'd stay that way. It was as if his body was begging for more. Pulling his lips back for a mere second, he went for her neck before she could retaliate.

Kagome gripped his shoulders as she felt his tongue relish her neck. Wincing as she felt him bite her skin, she only then realized the extent of what had happened.

Opening her eyes at once, Kagome pushed him away immediately. Her body was burning and even the cool water couldn't seem to cool it down. Paddling back a few steps, she breathed in quickly.

Inu-Yasha felt a shock of sense hit him as he fell back in the water. _Shit! FUCK! _What in the fucking hell had he done? Trying to find some words, he said the smartest things that came to mind. "I… really… uh… I didn't meant to do that…"

Kagome nodded furiously, not even daring to look at him. "Oh god… a crucial mistake…"

"I mean… uh…. We both, kind of… got off hand…" He put a hand to his forehead and shook his head, _Shit! _No, no, no… this _wasn't _supposed to _fucking_ happen!

Kagome nodded, still trying to catch her breath. Was the world against her or something!?! First having that drunken gay lord threatening her and now this!? "Uhm… but like, what that lady said before, about you know… a kiss just being a kiss… this wouldn't really matter then -."

"Of course, absolutely right!" He picked on immediately. "We both still… tremendously hate each other… and…"

"This never happened." Kagome said, waving a hand to settle a matter. "I mean, it was just… uh… pretend and… uh…"

"Right, right…" Inu-Yasha said and then glanced back at the beach, hoping to god no one had seen anything. Luckily, the beach was still empty as it was when he had first arrived. "I should get going…"

"Yeah," Kagome nodded, "You really should."

"Right…" Inu-Yasha said and looked around, a little lost for the moment.

"Yeah."

"Right."

"Well, see you then…"

"Hopefully not." Inu-Yasha shot back, trying to regain his dignity though he had to admit he was as nervous as ever.

"Of- of course…" Kagome said weakly then let out a deep breath. "Well, bye…"

"We're going back to the same place aren't we?" he asked, just realizing they were saying goodbyes for no apparent reason.

"Oh… yeah… uhm… forgot…" Kagome winced at her stupidity and then started swimming back to shore alongside Inu-Yasha. As they reached there, Kagome felt her face, frowning as she felt the heat.

"Oh and Kagome…" Inu-Yasha asked as they walked back to the mansion.

"What?" She snapped back, her lousy mood creeping in.

"What _did_ happen before I came here?"

Kagome growled, sending a glare towards Inu-Yasha. "_Never_ bring that up again."

Inu-Yasha chuckled and then ran inside the mansion as they came in view of it, leaving Kagome to her own privacy.

Stopping in her tracks, Kagome groaned, finally revealing her pent up frustration. "Why _me_?!"

"I'd feel pretty lucky if I were you!"

Swiveling around at once at the sound of another voice, worry shooting in her nerves at once, Kagome surprised herself as she saw a girl she hadn't seen before smiling in front of her.

"Who're you?!" She asked, hoping she wasn't some sort of ally to the Naraku creep.

The girl smiled brightly, "The name's Tiffany, and don't worry… I'm not here to harm you."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Well, what do you want with me?"

"I'm here to help you… well, I'm _supposed_ to help you." She started off, shivering as the wind hit her.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked and followed her as she started walking towards the mansion.

"Sesshomaru called me to help you and Inu-Yasha 'act' out being a couple, but it doesn't look like you need any help seeing what happened back there -."

"You CAN'T tell anyone!" Kagome yelled out instantly, stopping Tiffany dead in her tracks. "It was a mistake and all… it never happened… zilch and zen!"

The girl let out a giggle. "Whatever you say…" then seeing the worry on Kagome's face, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, I promise I won't tell anyone." Shrugging, she looked towards the mansion. "Well, let's head back and introduce ourselves to each other a little more formally then eh?"

Kagome smiled, liking the girl already. "Sure."

_x.x_

There you go! Excuse me if I have any typos, I'm a little weary. Okay, so the next chapter… the D.A.H Awards… (Well, Finally…)

And thanks a lot to all the readers who waited patiently for me to update… means a lot to me! So review and tell me what you thought of the chapter, reviews always make me happy!


	13. Embedded Memories

**Heyy! I didn't take _that _long to update this time!! Yay! **

**Oooh, Drake220 – Nope, Tiffany isn't my real name, it's actually Sarah – Tiffany's a name of a good friend of mine who's helped along the way, so I decided to put her in a needed role for my story! **

**And as for Miroku, he'll be coming back into the story again, just after the D.A.H.A are done and through with!**

………………

**Chapter Thirteen **

**Embedded Memories**

………………

Kagome yawned as she adjusted herself in the passenger seat of Inu-Yasha's Ferrari Enzo. After the two weeks of vacation, they had decided to head back home and get ready for the D.A.H.A which would take place next week. Tiffany, who had introduced herself to Kagome, was now accompanying them back home and to the D.A.H.A in the car behind theirs.

Shifting again, Kagome decided to look outside the windows and at the scenery instead of watching the ever so boring movie that Inu-Yasha had decided on watching on the twenty inch flat screen TV that was implanted directly between them both. Normally, she never held anything against Inu-Yasha's mother… but this time… damn her! Just because she had thought it might be pleasant to enjoy the scenery instead of simply fly over it… Kagome was stuck, in a car, with Inu-Yasha for a six hour ride home. Also, because of the short notice – it was too late to call in limousines, resulting in everyone getting their own two passenger cars.

There was only one word to describe the situation between them: Uncomfortable.

Since, well, 'The Incident' – they both tried their best at avoiding each other. Neither of them had said a word to each other, and now they had been forced to sit in a car, with Inu-Yasha driving for six consecutive hours.

Kagome let out a deep breath, her foot tapping the leather carpeted flooring. Glancing at the digital clock just above the DVD player, she inwardly let a piece of her sanity burn to crisp as she saw that four lousy hours still remained of the road trip.

Sighing, Kagome shifted again, this time crossing her arms across her chest.

His impatience snapping, Inu-Yasha let out a growl. "Would you stop doing that?!"

Looking at Inu-Yasha, Kagome frowned. "Doing what?"

"Doing _that. _It gets annoying after the hundredth time." Steering the wheel to the right as a turn came along, Inu-Yasha let go of the wheel with one hand.

Shrugging, Kagome threw off her shoes and pulled up her legs in front of her, "Are we there yet?"

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "Why don't _you_ tell me?"

Letting her head loll back onto the headrest, she groaned. "I can't 'cuz I'm not driving."

"Does it _look_ like we're home yet? We're driving on an isolated road in the countryside, get a brain." Scoffing, Inu-Yasha shook his head and put his arm on Kagome's head rest for support.

Making a face at him, she looked outside, letting her frown deepen as she realized something. "It's hot in the car."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Inu-Yasha pressed the air conditioning button grumpily.

In about ten minutes, Kagome pouted. Long car rides seriously brought out the childish side of her. "I'm bored."

Inu-Yasha let out another frustrated sigh. "What the hell am I supposed to do? Entertain you?"

"You could start by behaving yourself!" Kagome snapped out at him and pulled up her Cargo pants to her knees. Leaning forward towards the air conditioning, Kagome smiled as the cool air freshened her up a little. Yelping as Inu-Yasha punched her arm, she glared at him. "Hey, it wasn't my idea sharing this car with you so smarten up."

"Well, it wasn't my idea either so stop whining or I'll throw you out." Giving her an icy glare, he held in a chuckle.

"You wouldn't do that." Kagome retaliated. "First off, we're going at 150 mph and if you threw me out, I'd lose my head, and you'll be facing criminal charges. Secondly, if I die, I'd haunt you for the rest of my life. Thirdly, I can't die because I'm only seventeen and I haven't reached my life's goal which is to murder you."

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "Let me reply to that… First off, if I threw you out, you'd be crumpled to pieces, not only lose your head because I'll run the car over you – secondly, if you'd haunt me, I wouldn't be scared because, dude… we're talking about _you_ here. Thirdly, you being seventeen reminds me of something – your birthday is coming up soon isn't it?"

Kagome froze. "Oh… you shouldn't have remembered," then seeing that she didn't convince him, she added on "_Seriously_."

Smiling mischievously, Inu-Yasha licked his lips to release them of their dryness. "Oh but how could I forget?"

Panicking, Kagome tensed up, going immediately to her last plea. "Why don't I put it out straight for you? I'm turning eighteen this year, and if you ruin my birthday – again – I swear I'll burst up crying."

Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrows. He had for sure been expecting an 'I'll swear I'll poison you.' or something along those lines but had definitely not been expecting what _she_ had said. Fidgeting in his chair, Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Well, it's only you so I can handle it."

Gaping at his rudeness, Kagome felt her spirit dampen. He was going to do something horrible and ruin her eighteenth birthday, just like he had ruined her earlier birthdays as well. Biting her lip in hopelessness, Kagome groaned. "Inu-Yasha – come on! Why don't you just give me a stink bomb or something, but please don't ruin my birthday!"

Inu-Yasha smirked. "But what's the fun in that?"

"Jeez, why can't you be like other _normal_ guys?"

"Because I'm not some other _normal_ guy!" Inu-Yasha yelled out in frustration and shook his head. "Can't you shut up for once?" He continued on, not even bothering to look at her. Turning off the DVD player and putting on the radio, he babbled on mindlessly. "I mean, jeez – it was so much better when we weren't talking to each other and-" Glancing over to her, he got the surprise of his life when he saw her crying silently into her arms.

"What the… you're crying?! I didn't do anything!!" Trying to handle driving the car and Kagome at once, Inu-Yasha tried to get a hold of her chin but she slapped him away.

Sobbing, Kagome wiped her eyes. "Yeah, apart from saying you'd run me over with a car and that you'll ruin my eighteenth birthday!" She yelled at him as she let more tears fall down her face. "Oh, but it's _fun_ for you! I bet for your eighteenth birthday you threw a billion dollar birthday bash, all I'm asking for -."

"I was kidding! Calm down!!" Tensing as she continued crying, Inu-Yasha raised his hand to her face and wiped away a few tears. "C'mon, you look ugly when you cry."

Rolling her eyes and pushing away his hand with frustration, Kagome let out even more sobs as she remembered more of what he said. "You'll crush me into little pieces, gosh – I bet that'd be your dream come true!"

Inu-Yasha tensed up, "I didn't mean it, and c'mon, you said you'll poison me and I'm not crying, am I?"

Kagome frowned and glanced at him with teary eyes. "But I never swore at you, called you names…" She stopped for a second before re-thinking that. "Well, I never call you _harsh_ names, I never tell my friends how _fake_ you are, I don't trick you into believing I actually like you and then become a hypocrite and end up insulting you in front of everyone, now _do_ I!?"

Inu-Yasha stumbled for his words, hopelessly watching Kagome burst up in more tears. Glancing at the road and making sure no other car was on it, he hesitated. "Kagome – for the last time, I didn't mean it!"

If she hadn't been so pre-occupied with letting all her emotions out, she would've pointed out something she had so distinctively noticed but she let it go. "Oh – sure you didn't mean it. I know -."

"_No_, you don't know anything; now stop crying for god's sake!"

"Stop yelling at me!" She shouted out as he raised his voice. Sighing, Inu-Yasha snapped all his attention back to the road though it was clearly noticeable he was completely focused on Kagome.

Shaking his head, he tapped his fingers impatiently on the wheel. "If you hate me so much then just go home!"

Kagome scoffed. "I have no choice but to stay with you, and to make it all worse you have to act all egomaniacal and curse me all day!"

That felt like a blow to the guts. Glancing back at Kagome, Inu-Yasha sighed. Had he actually been _that _rude to her? Fidgeting, Inu-Yasha lowered his voice and muttered in the quietest tone possible. "Sorry then, just stop wailing."

Kagome peeked through her fingers. Was she imagining things? Glancing at him, she sniffled before glancing out the window. "Whatever."

After a minute of silence, she cleared her throat. "You know, you said my name…"

Inu-Yasha froze as he drove. "No I didn't."

Kagome, who had stopped crying as soon as she heard him apologize, giggled. "Yeah you did."

"What makes you so sure?" He said, relieved that she had stopped crying though the fact he had let her name slip pinned his mind.

"Oh – I'm sure." She replied with a triumphant tone and held in a laugh as Inu-Yasha tightened his grip on the wheel.

"But-."

"Oh let it go," Kagome waved off and then looked at the time, almost blown away as she saw that their arguments had taken almost an hour. "By the way… Inu-Yasha?"

"What?" He replied grumpily though he couldn't deny the wall that had just vanished between them after the argument as if him saying her name had somehow made it easier for them.

"I'm hungry."

He sighed. "Here we go again…"

_x.x_

"We're back, we're back – we're back!" Souta yelled as he jumped out of the car he was riding in. "I can't wait to get back to playing my _games_!" With that, he ran past the numerous cars and up the basement stairs into the villa.

Karira, who was walking towards Kagome, stared at Souta's disappearing figure. "Uh… Kagome?"

"Yeah I know – my brother needs a life." She said simply and giggled as she shut the door of the car. Turning her laugh into a yawn, Kagome stretched her arms, looking back as Tiffany ran up to them. "I fell asleep during the ride." She muttered sleepily.

Tiffany shook her head and smirked. "Well, Kagome – let's get started on your training right away… first off – you're going to be wearing heels night and day -."

"But I can't walk in heels!" Protesting at once, Kagome widened her eyes in horror as Tiffany brought out one inch heeled shoes.

"Exactly – you don't want to fall down on the red carpet do you?" Taking her upset face as an answer, Tiffany threw the shoes on the floor. "Okay, wear them for me will you?"

Giving in at once at the mention of the red carpet, Kagome sighed. "Fine…" Kicking off her own sneakers, she slipped into the high heels and stumbled at once, grabbing onto Karira for support. "There. Anything else you want me to do?"

Tiffany shook her head, "Nope, that's pretty much it, so why don't we head up to the Villa?"

Kagome nodded and turned around, taking slow steps in order to prevent falling. "So are we going to do anything before the awards?"

Karira laughed sarcastically, "Oh, of course." Holding Kagome's arm tightly for support, she glanced back to check if Inu-Yasha had gone already or if he was still behind them. Surprisingly, he was fixing the front left wheel of his Ferrari Enzo, not paying any attention to the girls. "Well, first we have to order in the specialists for hair and makeup, then just a few days before the awards we get notified what we're nominated for and if we're going to win, we get our speeches ready which become a pain after you win your first twenty awards."

Tiffany and Kagome laughed at this, though the concept of an individual actually becoming tiresome of winning awards shocked Kagome a tad. "So do we get front row seats?"

Looking at Kagome as if she was crazy, Karira giggled. "Of course we do, we're 'V.I.P' – so we get those round tables at the front alongside some other celebrities but mostly everyone sits on the casual seats."

"So I sit with you guys right?" Curiously asking, Kagome's mind wondered if they would even let her in.

"Of course, but you'll be sitting beside Inu-Yasha, just like Rin's going to be sitting beside Sesshomaru… oh god…" A glance of horrification passed Karira's face. "I'm going to be the only one at the table without a date!"

Rolling her eyes at Karira, Kagome turned her head towards Tiffany. "So where are you going to be? I mean, you're coming to the D.A.H.A right?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll be backstage mostly throughout the whole presentation, so I'll be there if you need me."

Nodding, Kagome took hold of the railings as they walked up the steps. Just the thought of actually attending the ever so famous, universal and mostly known awards made her stomach twist into figure eight knots.

_x.x _

The following few days turned out to be quite peaceful, unlike what Karira had said down in the basement earlier. Numerous notices came to the Taisho's inbox, one of them notifying that Sesshomaru had won the 'Sexiest Male Award' – kicking Inu-Yasha, who had won in the past years off the spot. Inu-Yasha however, was still holding the 'Teen choice Hottie' award. However - Karira on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear as she found out she was going to win more awards than either of her two siblings.

No one knew what the _hell _had happened between Kagome and Inu-Yasha but everyone noticed the difference. The villa just seemed to (though rather remarkably) become a little more peaceful. And just as soon as Saturday night approached, everyone was scurrying around the villa in a non-stop pace.

"**_Kagome!!_**" Karira yelled out as she looked at the watch on her wrist impatiently. "We're running late!"

"_Hold ON!" _ Yelling back, Kagome took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. The stupid hairdresser was taking her _sweet _time in doing her hair. She still had to put on her dress, make-up, choose a suitable purse from the sixth floor and put on all the jewelry which was chosen for her.

Barging through the room, Karira gaped in shock as she noticed how far-behind Kagome was. "Kagome, we have to arrive at the awards in half an hour! We leave in ten minutes!"

"You're hairs all done, let me just apply the make-up." The hairdresser left, throwing the hair appliances into the bin and pulling out a case of make-up supplies. "This won't take long."

Kagome sighed impatiently as the hairdresser turned her seat around so she could face her and then bent down to apply the gloss on. After a few minutes, she quickly applied the light midnight blue eye shadow and then clapped her hands together. "All done."

"Thanks." Jumping out of her chair as quick as she could, she followed Karira across the hallway and into the elevator. Pressing the sixth button, they both waited impatiently until it reached the desired floor. Just as soon as the elevator door opened on the floor which had all their clothes, they quickly grabbed their dresses and rushed into the changing rooms.

Karira emerged in her pink dress, doing a little spin in front of the mirror before she walked over to the section of the floor with all of her jewelry. Kagome came out a minute later, looking gorgeous in the navy blue dress they had chosen earlier. Slipping on the diamond necklace, she smoothed out the dress up to her knees, touching the diamond on her waist before leaning down to pull on her heels.

After ten whole minutes of running about the room as they slipped on their jewelry and chose their purses, they finally decided they were ready and headed back to the elevator. "What if I embarrass myself?" Kagome whined as the elevator slowly proceeded down to the first level.

"Pretty people don't embarrass themselves." Karira advised, earning a scoff from Kagome. "Ah, don't worry – just stay calm and the whole night will go through fine."

Hoping to god she was right, Kagome took in a deep breath before stepping out of the elevator as it reached the first floor.

Both of them walking towards the front entrance of the villa, Kagome raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw Inu-Yasha waiting patiently at the front door.

"Aw, how sweet." Karira giggled as she saw her brother with his hands plunged into his pant pockets, waiting for Kagome to hurry up.

"Oh shut up Karira, he was probably forced to -."

"Okay, okay – don't kill me here!"

Rolling her eyes, Kagome walked up to Inu-Yasha. "Ready to go?"

"I was ready half an hour ago." Opening the door, Inu-Yasha walked out hurriedly to the limousine that was waiting for them on the pavement. He was about to sit inside when Tiffany came running up to him.

"Hold on!" Motioning Kagome to hurry up and come beside her, she raised her hands for a prep talk, starting as soon as Kagome arrived.

"Okay Inu-Yasha, we don't have much time but… let's do this quickly. At the awards, you both - _please _don't start fighting. Inu-Yasha, _don't _start flirting with other girls there and remember… you both are pretending to be a couple. That means, Inu-Yasha, every time you win an award – give Kagome a little kiss. As you walk down the red carpet, have your arm around her waist or hold her hand… or _something!" _

Inu-Yasha shrugged solely, acting as if he barely heard her as he opened the door and sat inside. Kagome on the other hand, pouted. "I don't want to go through with this."

"It's just one night… now hurry up and get inside or you'll be late."

_x.x _

Kagome gulped as she waited in the car, nervousness completely ravishing her insides. Looking outside, she widened her eyes horrifically as she saw hundreds of people screaming behind the railings. The car was just slowing down and as it did, Kagome was giving herself a mental prep talk. _'Smile… Don't freak out… calm down…' _

Inu-Yasha on the other hand, was casually talking on his cell phone with one of his friends, laughing out freely as if arriving at the awards was no big deal. Glaring at Kagome as she punched him in the arm to notify him of the change, Inu-Yasha grumpily hung up on his cell. "We're there already?"

"Well, yeah – can't you hear all those screaming fans of yours?" Raising an eyebrow at him, she rolled her eyes as he quickly checked himself in the mirror placed in front of him.

"I look sexy as always." He grinned at himself and brushed his fingers through his hair. "Man I'm good."

"I'd describe you more to be up yourself than what you just said." Kagome flashed him a fake smile and then straightened her dress. "So we just walk up to the entrance of the building and sit down on our seats?"

"Well, we pose for some pictures and answer some questions too." He replied casually, cracking his knuckles as the limo stopped and the driver got out to open their doors. "Ready?" he asked as the driver took hold of the handle.

Kagome gulped before answering. "I guess so."

Taking in a breath as the driver opened her door she put on a smile before stepping out of the limousine. Her heart just skipped to her throat as the sound of screaming fans reached her ears all at once. How many were there out here? A hundred? Five hundred? A _thousand_? Looking back as Inu-Yasha stepped out; she quickly put her hand around his waist, him retaliating by placing his hand around her shoulder.

Inu-Yasha grinned, flashing one of his million dollar smiles towards the screaming, insane and preaching fan girls. That only resulted in more screams. As they walked down the red carpet, Kagome felt her stomach squirm as the camera's flashed non-stop. Everywhere she looked, there were more people taking pictures, videotaping the scene or just simply screaming.

Kagome was getting her spirit up, finally realizing it wasn't all that terrifying when she spotted two people behind the stands, her heart stopping mid-beat instantly. "Oh my god."

Glancing down at her, Inu-Yasha shrugged inquisitively. "You're still scared?"

"My friends! My two best friends are here!" She snapped out between her teeth, trying to calm herself down. "Aww… what do I do now?!"

"Oh wow, you're friends are here, big deal – now stop whining or they'll think you were forced to come here." He talked back in a low voice so no one around them could hear. Tugging on her lightly, Kagome quickly smiled as the host of the award came walking up to them.

"It's great that you could come here, I see you've brought your girlfriend along Inu-Yasha." The host held out his hand to Kagome which she shook lightly, trying to ignore the furious glares her friends were sending her. "So Inu-Yasha, seems like you had a quiet summer this year."

"Yeah – I guess so. It's just that I've been working so hard these past few years I thought I'd take this summer off." Inu-Yasha replied coolly, "So we're going to head in, see you later." Smiling one last time to the crowd, Inu-Yasha led Kagome into the building, heading straight down the aisle to the front of the auditorium. Reaching their tables, Inu-Yasha sat down beside Sesshomaru who had arrived a few minutes earlier.

Looking at Kagome who sat down beside Inu-Yasha, Sesshomaru leaned towards her. "Hey Kagome," lowering his town so no eavesdroppers could hear, Sesshomaru continued on. "When I was walking down the red carpet – these two girls were screaming out things like: 'We know Kagome, let us in!' Normally, I would ignore that, but they were so persistent that they didn't shut up until I was out of sight."

Kagome sighed in frustration. "Those two are my best friends, and I never told them that I knew you guys and now that they figured it out, I feel horrible that I can't talk to them!"

Rin perked up as she heard that. "Why can't you talk to them? Just ask one of the security guards to allow them in and give them 'V.I.P' badges."

"You can do that?" Hope lighting up in the pits of her stomach, Kagome's mood brightened instantly.

"Sure you can," Inu-Yasha joined in the conversation, "Thing is – they've got to stay in the V.I.P room for the whole award ceremony."

"That's perfect! Well, how do I ask the security guards?" Looking around, Kagome bit her bottom lip as she spotted one not too far away. "Do I just ask him?"

Rin smiled at Kagome, "I'll go ask them, they'll trust me more than they'll trust you so you just go and wait in the V.I.P room."

Nodding, Kagome thanked Rin as she got out of her chair and walked towards the guard. "That pops up another question – just, where _is _the V.I.P room?" looking at Sesshomaru for an answer, she shrugged innocently as he chuckled.

"Inu-Yasha, you go with her, I'll stay here with Rin."

Grumbling for the hundredth time that day, Inu-Yasha grabbed Kagome's hand and got up from his chair. Bringing one hand to her ear, Kagome rubbed it lightly as the people who were already seated inside started screaming as they both got up from their chairs. Leading her through twists and turns, they both finally got to a door which led backstage.

"The V.I.P room's at the very end because it's the biggest room apart from the auditorium." Inu-Yasha told her nonchalantly as they neared a door with a large star on it. "Here, your friends should be arriving soon."

She was about to go inside when she noticed Inu-Yasha turn around. "Hey, but aren't you coming?"

"Why should _I _come?" He asked with a scorn, his face showing clearly that he didn't want to go with her.

"_Because! _It'll make it easier for them to forgive me because they're practically your biggest fans." Rolling her eyes as that brought a large grin to his face, Kagome put her dignity aside and clasped her hands together. "Just think of how happy you'd make them."

"Well, are they cute?"

Making a face, Kagome shrugged. "Just come."

Slumping as Kagome pulled him inside, he looked around the V.I.P room the see what the setting was this time.

They had managed to turn the whole V.I.P room into an arcade, the floor of the room made by glass, each square colored differently. The music was booming loudly, shutting out the screams of the fans outside and the lights were flashing on and off in different moments just as disco ball would do. The snacks and campaign were placed on the far end of the room and gifts to the celebrities were set right beside them. Dozens of sofa's and chairs were places around the room and celebrities like, Kagura and Kanna Onigumo were taking a break already.

"Wow, this is pretty neat." Kagome said out loud, pulling Inu-Yasha to the back door of the room where her friends would be entering from.

"I guess, but I've seen better." Grabbing a glass of champagne as they passed the table, Inu-Yasha took a sip of the drink as they stopped in front of the door. "So what do you intend to say to them?"

"Invite them over to the villa to spend the rest of my stay with me."

"What!? You can't do that! My house isn't an open hotel where anyone can come and spend their time in!" Raising his voice, Inu-Yasha was about to start yelling when Kagome sharply nudged him in the ribs, reminding him that they were in public. Calming down, Inu-Yasha glared at her. "Did you ask anyone?"

"Karira and I talked about it over the week and she said it was fine." Looking up to him, she poked him in the chest. "Now you won't go against your sister's wishes would you?"

Inu-Yasha growled. "Don't put Karira into this, I dissagre –." Stopping instantly as the door swung wide open, he trailed on in mumbles as Kagome's two friends jumped in the V.I.P room with nothing less than hysterical cries.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we're in the 'Very Important People' room!" Ayame squealed as she looked around. "I forgive Kagome already!"

"Really?" Kagome squeaked up, gaining both of their attention at once.

"Of course not!" Forgetting about her surroundings at once, Ayame raised her hands to her hips, glaring at Kagome. "You lied to us! I mean, what kind of friend keeps a secret like _this _from her best friends?!"

"Exactly – and you never even bothered calling us after everyone found out!" Sango added on. "And when we tried calling you when you were walking down the red carpet, you IGNORED us!"

"I bet you were having way too much fun with your _boyfriend." _Ayame said in an exasperated voice, high pitching the last word.

"-Ahem." Coughing to gain the girls attention, Inu-Yasha put on a smirk. "So I suppose that you're Kagome's friends…"

Kagome shook her head in hopelessness as she saw the priceless expression on her two friends' faces. "Oh god," she sighed as they both burst up squealing. "Please help me."

"You know what Kagome?" Ayame squeaked out as she pounced on Inu-Yasha, giving him a big hug. "I forgive you."

"Me too!" Sango added on as she hugged Inu-Yasha from the side. "I mean, we don't mind Inu-Yasha being your boyfriend, as long as we can see him too!" 

Kagome rolled her eyes as she pulled them both away from him. "We all have to talk and…" Turning to Inu-Yasha, Kagome gathered the courage in her guts before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks for coming with me."

"No problem." Giving her a pat on the bum, (which earned an icy smile from Kagome), he turned around and walked out of the room casually. Taking in a deep breath, Kagome pulled her two friends to the side before starting. "First of all, how in the hell did you both get here?"

Sango crossed her arms across her chest before starting, frowning as she noticed Kagome wouldn't let her do anything else until she told. "Well, this guy came up to my house, saying that his name was Naraku or something – then he said that he'll give us a ride to your place. First we disagreed but then he kept becoming more convincing and in the end we decided to take him up on the offer so here we are!"

Kagome gaped at her. "What!? Naraku!? Are you kidding me?"

"No… he was actually pretty nice -."

"That guy is like a gay serial killer!" Kagome protested before slapping a hand across her own mouth. Looking around and hesitating as she saw some people giving her strange looks, she shook her head. "Never mind that – we'll talk about this when we get back to the villa."

"You mean you're taking us back to the Taisho's home?" Ayame asked breathlessly, her eyes sparkling as if she had just heard a miracle.

"Yes… but before that, there's something I've got to tell you about me and Inu-Yasha." She stopped and lowered her town. "We're not actually -."

"You guys are the cutest couple!" Ayame cut her off, squealing happily but stopped quite disappointed when Kagome told her to quiet down.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome licked her lips before starting. This would take a lot of explaining…

_x.x _

**The awards will continue in the next chapter… I'll try and update soon, probably on New Years Day? Review and tell me what you thought about it! And Merry Christmas everyone!**


	14. Grim Rivalry

**Don't hunt me down… I _know _I was supposed to update two days ago, but I couldn't… so I lost the bet and all, but I still update and that's all that counts right?... Right???**

**Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEARS everyone!!! – and Happy Belated Birthday to Sanci!! **

………………

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Grim Rivalry **

………………

Inu-Yasha grinned as Karira made her cutesy speech up on the stage for winning best lead actress for the movies in the year. As she walked off the stage, he clapped furiously and yelled out a congratulations as she came back to the table. So far, it had been an hour into the awards and Kagome still hadn't returned from the V.I.P room. Karira had managed to win two awards so far, best lead actress and best female supporting role in two different movies. Sesshomaru, who was sitting next to Rin was smirking from ear to ear as most of his awards consisted on how, quote: "damned sexy" he was.

Inu-Yasha smirked happily as he heard the screams from behind erupt as the presenter of the next award announced him to be one of the nominations. And in a matter of few minutes, he nodded with pride as he won 'The Most anticipated appearance on the big screen'.

He was about to get up when he felt someone kiss him lightly on the cheek. Looking quickly to the right, he put on a fake smile as he saw Kagome.

"I'm so sorry I missed out a whole hour," She apologized with a sorry pout, "But at least I came at the right time!" Giving him a warm hug before letting go and sitting down hurriedly, Kagome clapped as Inu-Yasha proceeded to the stage. Stopping clapping at once as he ran onto the stage, Kagome let out a big sigh and buried her face into her hands.

"Having a rough time?" Sesshomaru asked as he noticed her flushed face.

"Far more than I expected." Looking up to him, she let out another sigh. "I never knew how hard explaining a few facts to two friends could be." Groaning miserably, she shook her head. "I mean, when I told them that Inu-Yasha and I were you know," Kagome lowered her voice so only Sesshomaru could hear her. "Faking the whole thing, they just blew up and oh my god, this is so frustrating."

Sesshomaru gave a moment of silence before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a packet. "Well, would candy help?"

"What kind?"

"Lemon cough tablets."

"Hand them over."

Popping the candy into her mouth, Kagome looked up to Inu-Yasha who was just finishing off his speech. She was barely paying attention to what he was saying when he quickly glanced at her before ending the speech.

"Of course, I would like to say 'thanks' to my girlfriend, Kagome, who supported me through everything and I'd just like to let her know I love her." That was followed by the majority of the audience letting out a long line of "awwww's." Kagome on the other hand, was staring up at him as if he had gone mad.

Forcing upon a smile as cameras focused upon her, Kagome berated herself mentally. _Oh please! _She thought again and again. _How could he say **that? **_Shaking her head slowly as Rin along with Karira started giggling and Sesshomaru let out a contorted cough – she quietly muttered curses as she physically tried to remain calm. Well, her boyfriend back home just flew out the window and she could only _imagine _what her parents were thinking right now.

"Oh my god Kagome, he just said your name," Karira whispered, just realizing what had happened. "In front of _everyone _too!"

Kagome couldn't help but admit that every time he said her name, her heart practically skipped a beat. However, ignoring that and putting it to the side, she shrugged casually. "Whatever." She said as if it were no big deal. The next few minutes passed by and as Inu-Yasha came back; he sat beside Kagome with a triumphant grin. Glaring at him, she kicked him underneath the table so no one could see. "What were you _thinking?_"

"Hmm," Raising a hand to his chin, he rubbed it slightly. "Well, I was mostly thinking about the best way I could embarrass you."

Rolling her eyes, she groaned. "I can't believe you said the 'L' word."

"It wasn't like I meant it." Stopping for a second to cheer as a band came up to the stage to perform, he turned towards Kagome after doing so. "I mean, I just melted a million hearts out there by saying that."

"Ah, whatever." She replied, keeping her attitude in tune so no one would find them suspicious no matter how much she wanted to yell right now.

"Mmhmm." He replied burdensomely, if that was even possible. "Oh man, when is the award for best chick going to come?"

"Yeah." Sesshomaru replied automatically, forgetting that Rin was right beside him. Realizing what he had said when Rin gave him a punch on the arm, he stuttered. "But not like I really care." He rephrased, giving her an apologetic glance.

Kagome looked up at the stage wearily. These awards were so much more fun when you were in the crowd with your best friends, wearing jeans and t-shirts, jumping up and down with the rest of the attendants. Though what she was doing right now was completely the opposite of fun. Drinking some water from the glass that was resting on the table, she sighed before sustaining her mind for another few hours of loud booming music and presentations.

x.x

"I'm bored, bored, bored, bored, bored and getting even more bored by the minute." Kagome mouthed to Inu-Yasha in a fuss, not saying it out loud to offend the host of the award ceremony who was currently talking to Inu-Yasha in the V.I.P room. Inu-Yasha glanced at her for a mere second before continuing his chat with the host. Pouting as he completely ignored her; Kagome left his side and went over to talk to the other celebrities. She was walking towards Kagura when she felt someone lightly grab her hand.

"Hello, I don't think we've met before." A deep yet masculine voice reached her ears. Turning around, Kagome stiffened as she saw Kouga smiling gently down at her. Forcing upon a feigned smile, she mentally bombarded herself with frantic thoughts. She shouldn't be talking to him! If any of the Taisho's saw her talking to the man that was the seed of their problems, she was sure they'd be upset with her.

"I don't think so either, but you see – I'm in a hurry and, I've got to go." She spattered out hurriedly in an order to finish their conversation as quickly as possible, panic flickering through her eyes.

"What's the rush? If I may be mistaken, I heard you say you were 'bored to death'to Inu-Yasha _countless _times." He said with a smirk as he saw the surprise in her eyes and lowered his head to a close proximity. "I mean, unless you're trying to avoid me -."

Panicking as he hit her reason dead smack, she shook her head vigorously. "Of course not! I just really have to um, go to the washrooms." Blushing as she realized what she had just said, to a celebrity at the least, Kagome gave him an apologetic smile before changing her paths and running straight to the exit of the V.I.P room.

The awards were over and the guests were either going to hang out at the V.I.P room or had made their way to the after-party. Her two friends, Ayame and Sango had been driven back to the Taisho's quickly before anyone could question their presence and were now, probably gaping at the furniture inside the villa. Kagome let out a sigh of relief as she reached the washroom. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and headed straight for the taps. Turning a tap around, so the freezing cold water rushed out, Kagome leaned down and sprinkled the water on her face. It was burning hot inside the V.I.P, no matter how high the air-conditioning was turned up.

Licking her lips and looking at herself in the mirror one last time, she was about to head back when the door of a cubicle behind her opened up and a model unknown to Kagome stepped out. Just as soon as she spotted Kagome, her posture stiffened. "Oh, hey wait!" she yelled when Kagome reached out to open the door of washroom.

Turning around, Kagome raised an eyebrow as the model gave her a sugary smile. "Hi, my name's Yura, and I'm guessing you're Kagome!"

"Um, yeah…" She said with a smile, trying to hide her discomfort when Yura gave her a quick hug. "So have we met before?"

"I don't think we have but I'm Inu-Yasha's ex-girlfriend!" At that, her eyes flickered icily as Kagome mouthed a silent "Oh."

Fidgeting in her spot as she found herself in an uncomfortable position, Kagome frowned and clasped her hands together a few dozen times before letting out a sigh and shrugging. "So…" She drawled out slowly. Meeting Inu-Yasha's ex girlfriend was something she _hadn't _been planning. "Um, so – what broke you two apart?"

Yura shrugged, combing her fingers through her silky black hair. "I thought we were doing fine until he broke up with me," and then changing the topic completely, she added on. "I think he was cheating on me."

Kagome nodded, well, he probably _was _cheating on her…

Putting on an expression of fake surprise, she tried to look hurt. "That's horrible! But I'm sure he wasn't cheating on you," Nodding apologetically, Kagome tried to think up of something clever. "I remember that day he broke up with you…" Trying to keep a straight face, Kagome felt a burst of triumph as she came up with the perfect lie. "He was so upset but he couldn't help it. The thing is, he was suffering from a severe case of diarrhea and…" Stopping to think for a moment, she smiled sweetly as she thought of what this was doing to his reputation. "He thought his upset stomach would scare you away so he broke up with you."

Yura gasped, bursting into a heap of questions. "So he did it so I wouldn't get scared of him?!"

Kagome nodded. "_Exactly_, I mean, which model likes a guy who has to go to the bathroom every minute or two eh?"

Yura gaped at Kagome. "You're so _right. _Hmm…" Thinking for a few minutes before looking back up at Kagome with a bright smile, Yura giggled. "Thanks, I'm _so _over him now, you're not as bad as I thought you'd be!"

"Same to you!" Kagome laughed as Yura burst up in more giggles. "Alright, I should be heading back, see you sometime!"

"Bye!" Yura yelled before heading to the sinks to fix her makeup.

Heading out of the washroom at once, Kagome was about to head to V.I.P room when a security guard blocked her path. Bringing up an expression of confusion at once, Kagome looked up at him. "Um… excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry miss but the V.I.P room's closed now – you should start heading towards the after-party or just head home." He said gruffly and pointed towards the auditorium exit on the other side of the hall.

"Okay, but my friends are inside there-." She started off but was cut off by the security guard.

"They should be leaving soon."

Muttering words underneath her breath as she figured that the guard wasn't going to let her inside, she sighed for the umpteenth time that day and turned around to head out the exit. Pushing open the door, she stepped outside on the pavement and looked around to see where the hell the after-party was being held. Crossing her arms across her chest, she spotted the club where the celebrities were driving to across the street.

Why drive a car there when you could walk?

Not even bothering to find the answer to her question, she quickly walked across the road. _The sooner I find Inu-Yasha, the sooner I get to go home… _Damnit… if only she had stayed with him in the V.I.P room and not wandered off, she wouldn't be walking alone to the stupid after-party. Walking up the steps to the damned club, Kagome stopped as one of the security guards motioned her to slow down.

Stopping at the door, she lazily turned towards the security guard. "Yes?" She asked, desperately wanting to just get this whole night over with.

"I need your name, please." He asked and pulled up a sheet of paper, glancing at her from behind his sunglasses.

Knowing it would be useless to tell him her name, she rolled her eyes. "I'm Inu-Yasha's girlfriend."

"Oh, the Higurashi girl? You can enter." Opening the door and allowing passageway in, Kagome walked in the room and groaned silently as loud music bombarded her ears. How the hell was she going to find Inu-Yasha in this place? There were at least four floors, and each floor stretched for at least a few hundred feet. Taking a deep breath before walking into the crowd, she squeezed through the sweaty bodies dancing before she got to the other end of the room with the drinking bar.

Yelling out a sorry to the bartender selling out the drinks, she climbed onto the counter and stood up, looking around hurriedly to see if she spotted a head with silver hair. Sighing with frustration as she saw none, she jumped back down. Noticing that her throat was scorching dry, she turned to the bartender and quickly asked for a can of pop. Nodding at her command, he quickly produced a can of coke in front of her which she took gratefully.

So he wasn't on the first floor, and seeing how much of rush it was down here, she didn't even want to think about how crowded the second floor would be. Gulping down the coke quickly, she left the can on the counter and pushed her way through the crowd until she reached the staircase. As soon as she reached the second floor, she yelled as someone bumped harshly straight onto her.

Yelping as she was sent stumbling sideways, she groaned as she accidentally bumped into Kouga. As he turned around and saw that it was Kagome, he gave her a happy smirk. "I was wondering where you disappeared!" He yelled as he grabbed her and pulled her deeper into the crowd to dance.

Mentally screaming at herself for bumping into _Kouga _of all people, she shook her head as she asked her to dance.

"Sorry, but I've got to go find Inu-."

Kouga sighed and pulled her closer to him, "Oh come _on,_ loosen up andhave some fun! He's definitely not thinking about you, did you _see _the chicks he was dancing with?"

Stiffening as he said that, Kagome sighed, well… she _did _need to loosen up and it had been a while since she last had fun. Smiling as she looked up at him, she caved in. "Well – fine." Kouga wasn't that bad… well, he probably did have some feud going on with the Taisho's but overall he was pretty nice to everyone else.

Laughing as he saw her draw in closer to him to dance, Kouga leaned in closer to Kagome. "So, why the hell are you dating that bastard, Inu-Yasha?"

Kagome looked up to Kouga and strained to hear what he said over the loud booming music. Hesitating before answering, Kagome shrugged. "He's cute I guess."

"But aren't I cuter?" Kouga asked, smirking as Kagome laughed.

"_Anyway," _Kagome emphasized on the word, changing the topic completely, "How come you were alone when I bumped into you?"

"Well, I was trying to find _you_, that's why."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Kagome's eyes flickered with confusion. "How come?"

Grinning, Kouga pulled Kagome closer, not even noticing the discomfort hit her as he pulled her against his chest. "Because I wanted to do this,"

Surprising Kagome completely as he dipped down and kissed her, she didn't even have time to react as he quickly surrounded her waist with his arms. She was supposed to pull back, remembering she was supposed to be acting as if she was dating Inu-Yasha, but thinking about the fact he was dancing out there with some other chick, she didn't even bother.

Feeling his tongue sweep the crevices of her mouth, she mentally realized she was _kissing_ _Kouga_ in a club with _tons_ of people who thought she was dating _Inu-Yasha_. She was just about to pull back when Kouga jerked back. Opening her eyes immediately and looking to see what the hell had happened, she felt dread creep into her stomach as she saw Inu-Yasha pull Kouga around.

"Inu-Yasha, don't –."

Kagome winced as Inu-Yasha punched Kouga right in the jaw, forcing him to fling to the floor. Commotion erupting at once, Inu-Yasha glared at Kagome for a second before leaning down and grabbing Kouga by the collar, "You'll fucking pay for that!" he growled out, pulling Kouga up to his feet.

Looking around, Kagome nervously took a breath and started tapping her heel as she noticed a circle had formed around the two.

Kouga regained his posture and bared his fangs. "What the hell!" Balling his hand into a fist, Kouga moved to punch Inu-Yasha who grabbed his hand and sent another punch to his cheekbone. Stumbling back a bit as Inu-Yasha roughly punched him again and again, Kouga growled before sinking his claws into his collarbone and scraping his now bloodied claws down his arm. At that, both bodies flung at each other at once.

"Alright, cut it off!!"

Letting out a sigh of relief as Kagome watched horrifically at the fight, two security guards came and wrenched the two apart from each other.

"Let's not start a scene here." The second security guard said as Kouga fought furiously against him. "If you two don't calm down, you're getting kicked out of the club."

"We're leaving anyway." Inu-Yasha snarled out, giving Kouga one last glare before heading to Kagome to grab her wrist. Pulling her forcefully, he led across the floor and down the staircase.

Not saying a word as Inu-Yasha exited the club and walked around the club to the parking lot, Kagome simply raised an eyebrow as he stopped at a convertible.

"Inu-Yasha, is this even your car?" She asked meekly as he opened the driver's door.

"Just get the fuck in."

Kagome gulped before pulling the handle and sitting inside the car. Why the heck was _he _so mad? It wasn't like she had done anything _bad_. Repeating those words within her mind again and again, Kagome bit her bottom lip in nervousness. He was overreacting; after all, all she had done was _kissed _Kouga.

Quickly pulling on her seatbelt as he started the car and drove out of the parking lot, Kagome tapped her foot against the car mat, was he even going to _say _anything? Building up the courage to say something, she looked over at him and all thoughts of saying anything vanished completely. Looking back into all the years she had known him, she had never seen him this angry before – but… "What the hell did I do?!" she spat out, not looking at him and choosing to stare out the window instead.

"You were fucking kissing Kouga!" He snapped out and took a dangerous swerve to the right which created frightened butterflies in Kagome's stomach at once.

Gaping, Kagome rolled her eyes, shaking her head in the process. "I wasn't kissing him, he kissed _me!_"

Inu-Yasha growled with frustration and sped up the car, zooming past a red light. "Yeah, but you didn't pull back, wench."

Slamming her scrunched up fist on her thigh, Kagome glared at Inu-Yasha. "But why do you even CARE?"

"Because you aren't supposed to go around kissing fucked up people!" He yelled back, and dodged the brick on the road by an inch.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, not caring that Inu-Yasha was driving ever so recklessly and that they could crash into anything at any given moment. "Oh, so it's okay to kiss _you,_ even though we're not actually dating but it's **so** wrong to kiss any other guy?"

Inu-Yasha growled, deciding not to answer her question. She had already made him so mad and she had the nerve to ask questions like that? Turning the car dangerously to the left, he sped up the car. Gripping the wheel tightly, Inu-Yasha pressed the horn of the car as he saw another one right ahead. Driving right around the damned vehicle, he ignored the red light again and continued driving at the reckless speed.

Kagome shook her head. "You're such an asshole, you're overreacting-."

"You kissed KOUGA!"

Letting out a growl of frustration, Kagome threw her hands in the air. "Alright, I kissed Kouga, what's wrong with that?!"

"It's wrong because… because…" Inu-Yasha stuttered, trying to find a reason, "It just is."

"No, you're wrong. It's – ack, watch where you're driving!" She yelled out as he almost crashed into a telephone booth. Realizing that squeezing out a reason from him was currently hopeless, she moved to her next tactic. Sighing, she leaned over and loosened his grip on the wheel. "Just _**calm** down." _

Inu-Yasha grumbled as Kagome pulled on his left hand, trying to loosen his death grip on the wheel. When that didn't work, she sighed and slumped in her chair. "You're going to get us killed if you don't slow down." She yelled out as she finally noticed the speed in which they were driving at.

"Just shut up."

Sighing with annoyance, Kagome turned back to looking out the car. Normally, she would've replied to a comment like that but something in his tone just told her that he didn't want to argue right now. Neither did she though, but the fact that he had just punched Kouga twice in the club and then pulled her out in a car in which they were driving at high speed in ticked her off.

After a good ten minutes, Kagome sighed with relief as the villa came in view. Driving in the gates of the villa and down the pavement to the basement, Kagome felt her heart sink as she gave Inu-Yasha another glance. He was still furious and she still had no clue why.

Okay, so she _did _know that he was mad at her for kissing Kouga but it wasn't like he should've cared.

As the skidded to a stop in the basement along with the other two dozen cars, Inu-Yasha pushed open his door and stepped out, not speaking a word to Kagome in the process. Grumbling as she opened her door and stared after Inu-Yasha's disappearing figure, Kagome frowned before running after him.

Taking the elevator upstairs instead of the stairs, Kagome quickly ran in between the closing doors before they could clamp shut. As she looked at the floor they were heading, she quickly pressed her own floor so they wouldn't immediately just to Inu-Yasha's. Looking at him, Kagome just then realized the blood on his shoulder.

"Great," She exclaimed in sarcasm. "You get in a fight _and _get yourself all bloodied up."

Rolling her eyes as he simply shrugged, Kagome felt her heart lift a little as they elevator reached her floor. But seeing Inu-Yasha's bloodied shoulder one more time, Kagome frowned before making up her mind. Just when the elevator doors opened to reveal passageway for her, Kagome reached out and grabbed his hand, yanking him outside.

Confusion glazing across his face, Inu-Yasha tried to pull back as she dragged him to her room "What're your doing?"

"Excuse me, genius, but I'm not letting you get some gross infection because of your wound." At that, he gave up resisting and let her lead him to her room. Walking in her opened door to her bedroom, Kagome walked straight towards her bathroom, not even noticing Sango and Ayame who were sitting on her bed.

Closing the bathroom door behind her as she entered, she ordered Inu-Yasha to take his shirt off and sit on the counter until she found some band-aids, towels, and alcohol for the wound. As she found the desired objects, Kagome finally decided to let off some steam as she walked back to Inu-Yasha who was now sitting patiently on the counter, with his tie and shirt thrown messily on the floor.

Looking at him, she felt her mood lighten as she noticed he had calmed down a bit. "What were you thinking Inu-Yasha?!" She raised her voice as she dampened one towel in the sink. "You're on probation! What would've happened if the police had come? You would've gone to jail!" Taking the wet towel, she raised it to Inu-Yasha's shoulder and wiped the blood off. After rubbing the wet towel all the way down his arm and cleaning every ounce of blood, she threw the wet towel in the bin.

Taking another towel, she cleaned away all the blood that was left and then sighed as she threw the second towel in the bin. "I mean, punching Kouga in the face for no apparent reason was completely unreasonable!"

Taking the third towel and dabbing it with alcohol, Kagome glanced at him for a second and pressed the towel on his wound. Feeling him wince as she slowly wiped the alcohol across the wound, Kagome blew on it gently to decrease the pain.

Both of them looked back in surprise as someone opened the door to the bathroom, but as Ayame and Sango walked in the bathroom with disconcerted expressions, they both let out adequate sighs. "Okay, what's going on in here?" Ayame asked, not liking the fact that there were bloodied towels in the bin and Kagome had been screaming at Inu-Yasha for the past few minutes.

"Inu-Yasha decided to get in a fight with a guy and ended up hurting himself." Kagome said simply, blowing on the wound and dabbed it again with alcohol.

"That explains the blood…" Sango pointed out and walked towards Inu-Yasha, deciding to plop on the counter beside him. Not long after, Ayame had run up and sat beside Inu-Yasha's vacant side.

Inu-Yasha exhaled with annoyance. Did her friends have to come _now? _It wasn't like he wanted to spend time alone with Kagome but it was just that… he didn't want anyone else around. Fidgeting in his spot, he tried to look anywhere else but the three girls. "Hey, wench?"

Looking up at him with exasperation, she ignored the grimaces that passed upon her friends' face and quickly picked up a band-aid before replying. "What?"

"Do you really like Kouga?" he asked, ignoring the stares from her friends.

Kagome glanced at Inu-Yasha as she peeled away the cover for the band-aid, "No, I don't… so next time something happens, please don't get in a fight."

Inu-Yasha shrugged, looking down at his shoulder as she put on the band-aid and then slowly started wrapping his shoulder in cotton wrap. Tying it one last time, she looked at her work on his before pushing Ayame to the side so she could wash her hands. Sighing for the hundredth time that day, Kagome dried her hands before turning to the group still sitting on the counter. "I'm going to go change my clothes, I'll see you later." And with that, she left the bathroom, leaving Inu-Yasha in the custody of her two friends.

As she closed the bedroom door and Ayame and Sango were sure that she was gone, they both turned to Inu-Yasha.

"Oh, I see what's going on."

"It's so clear."

Fidgeting in their company, Inu-Yasha tried to leave but they both clasped his arms. "Ack! What're you going to do to me?"

Sango burst into giggles. "We aren't going to _do _anything to you,"

"We just wanted to ask you what _actually _went on at the awards." Ayame said, trying to hold back her laughter at his comical face.

Inu-Yasha grumbled. "Nothing did."

"I don't think so… because you sounded _jealous _when you asked about the Kouga guy!" Sango sang in a teasing voice.

"Oh get _lost_, that's insane." Wrenching his arms away from both Ayame and Sango, he jumped off the counter and walked towards the awards. "I just had to finish some unfinished business with Kouga."

"Right, right, sure." Ayame raised an eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest in the process.

"Just leave me alone." Exiting the bathroom, Inu-Yasha left them both in the company of each other and simply ran out of the bedroom.

"Sango, he sounded jealous didn't he?"

"Oh, for sure!"

"Did Kagome realize?"

"I don't think so."

"Ayame, when Kagome told us… that she hated pretending being Inu-Yasha's girlfriend and he hated pretending that he was her boyfriend, did you really believe her?"

"Nope."

_x.x _

**Hope you liked the chapter… once again, Happy New Years and remember to review and tell me what you thought about the chapter! **


	15. Goodnight at Morning

**School's started again so finding time to update is pretty tight, however - I'll try updating on weekends!**

………………

**Chapter Fifteen **

**Goodnight at Morning **

………………

Ayame and Sango laughed as Kagome told in full detail the horrible yet somewhat funny experiences she had with the Taisho's in the past few years. After she had gotten into her pajamas, freshened up and eaten something to fill her stomach, she headed back into her room to find Inu-Yasha yet her friends had been waiting patiently for her on her bed.

"So let me get this straight?" Sango asked with disbelief, her insane crush on Inu-Yasha tattered to little pieces as she slowly discovered the real Inu-Yasha underneath the façade. "Inu-Yasha ruined your thirteenth birthday party by eating your cake?"

"Yup," Sighing misfortunately, Kagome drew imaginary circles with her finger on the bed sheet. "So I had no thirteenth birthday cake… and now I'm driving myself crazy because I really hadn't thought I would be spending my eighteenth birthday here. Now that I know I am, I'm positive he'll wreck it." Groaning, Kagome belly flopped down on the bed. "Just my luck."

"How are you _sure _he'll ruin your birthday?" Ayame asked, shivering as she felt a cold breeze drift into the room from the opened windows.

"Well," Raising her head to look desperately at her friends, Kagome felt her hopes dampen. "He's never paid any attention to me at any of my other birthdays so what makes my eighteenth birthday any different?"

Slitting her eyes into a catlike look, Sango shook her head. "Oh we'll make sure that he won't ruin your birthday. It's too much of a risk, I mean, you're turning _eighteen!" _

"But if he ends up ruining your birthday, we'll ruin _his _birthday!" Ayame concluded, punching the bed as if she had come up with a mater plan. "He's turning nineteen in two months isn't he?"

Looking wearily up at her friends, "Well, yeah…"

"So threaten him back! Say if he dares to ruin the day you step out of the age of adolescents… you'll bring hell upon his nineteenth birthday party!" Sango yelled out, nodding in agreement with Ayame. "But that's only if he ruins your birthday."

Kagome nodded slowly, giving into their plan. She was never the one to ruin someone's birthday but because her own eighteenth birthday was arriving in merely two days, she was desperate. "We'll see how it goes." Stifling a yawn, Kagome looked over to her alarm clock and blinked twice to make sure the time was correct. "Man… it's almost two in the morning!"

Just when her two friends looked over to the clock, a loud crash penetrated the silence, making the three girls jump slightly on the bed. Just as soon as the crash slowly elapsed into silence, rain could be heard pouring onto the windows from outside.

Sango breathed a sigh of relief as she realized the crash was just a loud thunder crash from outside. Taking the rubber band which was tied around her wrist, Sango tied her hair into a pony tail with delighted movement. "It finally rains!"

Ayame on the other hand, looked disappointed. "We actually gain entrance to Demon Wood and it decides to rain, that means we can't we go any where tomorrow." Groaning, Ayame slipped out of Kagome's bed and ran towards the curtains, pulling them aside slowly. Sure enough, rain was plastering everything in sight, soaking the grass, leaving small puddles on the leaves of the trees and pounding the windows. "It doesn't look like it's going to let down anytime soon." Frowning with displeasure, Ayame dropped the curtains and looked back at her two friends. "No fair."

"It isn't that bad!" Kagome pursued. "I can introduce you to everyone else and we can receive some professional massages and get facials and -."

Cutting Kagome off, Sango squealed. "We can do that _all _here?!" She asked breathlessly, her eyes wide with anticipation.

Smiling proudly, Kagome nodded. "Yep, it's all on the fifth floor… so staying at the villa the whole day won't be so bad."

"Awesome!" Ayame joined in, jumping back on the bed. "But… where are the others anyway?"

Raising her hand to her head to think for a minute, Kagome shrugged. "Well, Mr. Taisho probably took Mrs. Taisho to some fancy dinner. Rin and Sesshomaru supposedly went to some date after the awards finished and Karira's probably still at the after party."

"Oh I see," Clasping her hands together, Sango crawled off Kagome's bed. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning then, I'm off to sleep!" Walking towards the door, she waited for Ayame to catch up before waving a goodnight to Kagome and walking out to the corridor.

Smiling as she finally felt content knowing that her friends knew the whole ordeal about her knowing the Taisho's, Kagome reached over and turned off the lamp, eclipsing the entire room in darkness. Yawning again, Kagome fell back onto her pillow and stared at the ceiling, listening silently to the rain outside.

Stretching her arms, Kagome turned on her side to stare at the slightly see-through curtains, watching the shadows of the rain. Closing her eyes as exhaustion took over, Kagome sighed to herself as petty thoughts crossed her mind. Even though more than preposterous events had interfered in her trip to the Taisho's, _this_ visit wasn't just as bad as the other had been. A heavy load had been lifted up from her shoulders now that everyone knew her tiny little secret. Not only that, Inu-Yasha had _actually _said her name. Something she would've never expected, even after spending fourteen years with him. Brushing off the situation away from her mind, Kagome delved deeper into thought. Was it just her or was Inu-Yasha becoming nicer?

It was probably just her.

"If only Inu-Yasha had a sensible mind… that would make my vacation perfect." With that, Kagome fell asleep, tiredness finally taking advantage of her body.

_x.x _

Inu-Yasha's left ear twitched as he heard the rain slowly dampened the entire villa. Scratching his belly, he yawned before taking off his shirt. Jumping off his bed, Inu-Yasha walked across the room in his boxers towards the balcony. Stepping outside in the rain, Inu-Yasha folded his arms across his chest as he looked down to the balcony underneath him. It seemed like Kagome had fallen asleep, seeing that she had turned off her lamp.

Shivering as the cold got to him, Inu-Yasha decided to head inside. Just as soon as he stepped inside his room, a blinding flash lighted the sky. Closing the balcony door shut and locking the door, Inu-Yasha glanced outside his window one last time at the arriving storm before pulling his curtains across the windows.

Turning around and jumping on his bed, Inu-Yasha yawned again as he looked blankly up at the ceiling. Blinking once, he felt annoyance creep into him again as he realized his trail of thought. Growling with frustration, he took the red pillow beside him and pulled it down on his face. Why the hell couldn't he get that wench out of his mind?

Kagome, Kagome, Kagome, Kagome, Kagome and Kagome.

That's what he had been thinking about the moment he left her room. It was scaring him half to death. Usually… she wouldn't cross his mind even for a mille-second, but since the moment he spotted her kissing damned Kouga, she wouldn't step out of his mind. However, what was scarier was… he wasn't thinking about making her _suffer_, which he would usually think about but actually thinking about the times she had given him chances but he always messed them up.

Groaning with annoyance, he turned around to rest on his stomach. "Someone's cursed me." He whispered out with dread. He possibly couldn't be developing feelings for her so it must have been some voodoo dude who decided to cast some spell on him.

Inu-Yasha sighed as he realized how _stupid _that sounded. Breathing in deeply, he mentally stabled himself to think of something _other _than her.

As he was surfing his thoughts mentally, something clicked inside of him.

His girlfriends!

Sitting up in bed instantly, Inu-Yasha raised his hands to his face. "Oh no, I completely forgot about them." Reaching over to his cell phone which had been thrown on the floor, Inu-Yasha cursed underneath his breath as he started looking up numbers.

He was so completely lost in thinking about Kagome, he had forgotten entirely about his numerous girlfriends which were probably furious with him! They would probably help him take his mind off of her… so what was he waiting for? Dialing the first number he found, Inu-Yasha hurriedly pressed the numbers and waited patiently for someone to pick up.

Breathing out a sigh of relief as a girls voice answered, Inu-Yasha licked his dry lips before replying. "Melissa?"

"_Um, no, this is Mona…" _She answered; her voice flickering as she slowly realized who was calling. _"Inu-Yasha?" _

"Yeah, honey, it's me -." Inu-Yasha blinked in surprise as she hung up on him.

Rolling his eyes, he dialed the number again, this time preparing himself as she picked up. As soon as she did, Inu-Yasha spoke before she had the chance to say anything. "I know you're mad at me – but give me a minute."

He heard her sigh before replying. _"Fine, you have one minute, start talking."_

"Uh…" Inu-Yasha stumbled as he tried to think up of some cheesy love statement which would win her over. "Well -."

"_Fifty-seven seconds…" _

Inu-Yasha slumped his shoulders. "Oh come on, forgive me?"

"_Why should I?" _She replied stubbornly, throwing in some attitude in her tone. _"You cheat on me, then call me to expect I forgive you?" _

"But I didn't mean to," He feigned a sorry voice, "Why don't I… take you out on a date?" He smirked as he heard her hesitate. Going out with some other girl would _definitely _take his mind off of Kagome.

"_But what about that other girl… Kasome or something?" _

"Oh, her? You're more, uh… important than her, so it's set then, a date after tomorrow at lunch?" He asked, completely forgetting it was Kagome's birthday the exact same day.

"_Fine, but you better shower me with gifts or else…"_

Rolling his eyes again at her prissy attitude, he agreed and quickly muttered a goodbye. Spending some quality time with a sexy model would definitely take his mind off of Kagome. Smiling, Inu-Yasha threw his cell phone at the floor and flopped back on his bed. Closing his eyes, he slightly surprised himself as he remembered his nineteenth birthday was coming up in two months… and… "Man, it was so much better when girls were gross."

Inu-Yasha groaned as he realized he had trailed his mind onto the currently undesired subject again. Grumbling, he sat back up again and walked out of bed, deciding to eat something. Exiting his bedroom, he walked down the corridor and down the staircase towards the kitchen.

_x.x_

Kagome awoke as a loud lightning crash sounded the whole villa, instantly burning the electrical system. Squinting as the lightning blinded her room in complete brightness for a quarter of a second, Kagome sleepily yawned as she looked around the room dizzily. "Mom, wake me up later…" she murmured and curled up on the bed, drifting to sleep one more time before she was annoyingly disturbed again as the phone started to ring.

Groaning as she sluggishly lifted her head off the pillow, Kagome looked at the phone evilly as if her glare would shut it down. Blinking as she started controlling her senses once again, she growled, still half asleep before reaching over and grabbing the phone.

Not even bothering to say a "hello", Kagome felt anger hitch in her throat. Didn't this person realize it was probably five in the morning right now? "What?" She snapped out, her eyes drooping just as she did so.

"_You still awake?" _

Kagome banged her head lightly on the bed as she realized who was on the phone. "Well, I was sleeping peacefully until you called," not allowing him to speak, Kagome continued on. "Inu-Yasha, what the hell do you want?"

"_I'm bored." _He replied lazily,_ "And who else to bother but you?" _

Kagome yawned, dropping her head back onto the pillow. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"_The storm keeps waking me up." _He replied and sounds which sounded somewhat like he was trying to switch some appliances on, reached Kagome's ear. _"Damn, there's a blackout again." _

"That's nice," Kagome murmured, barely paying attention to what he was saying. "I'm sleepy." She said with a pout, closing her eyes. "And I'm also cold."

"_Uh… why not get a blanket then?" _Inu-Yasha replied, and even though Kagome couldn't see him, she could swear that she knew he had raised his eyebrow just about then.

"Because I'm so tired." She said and droopily opened her eyes to glance around her room. Realizing that her room was completely pitched in darkness, Kagome scrunched her forehead in confusion. "How come all the lights are out?"

"_Wench, didn't you even hear me when I said there's a blackout?" _

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned around to sleep on her side. "I probably missed it. Anyway, what time is it?"

Kagome waited patiently as she heard him click on a button of his cell phone. _"Er… five-thirty eight?" _

Growling, Kagome stared at the ceiling in disbelief, annoyance crawling back into the pits of her stomach again. "The sun's going to be rising soon and I want to get some sleep first. Beauty over mind Inu-Yasha." She yawned into the phone and finally decided to get a blanket.

"_Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" _He asked mockingly. _"Out of all the girls I've met, you'd be the last one on my list I would expect to hear that from."_

Sighing in frustration, Kagome sat up in bed, not knowing why she didn't hang up earlier. "I can't think when I'm sleepy, understand? So good afternoon – ack, I mean, good morning!"

"_You mean good night." _He replied, his tone of voice proving Kagome he was smirking right now.

"Oh whatever." Slamming the phone back on its cradle, Kagome flopped back onto her bed, relishing in the warmth as she thought about how wet and cold it would be outside. She was just drifting off to sleep again as the phone rang again, driving her mind crazy. Snapping her eyes open at once, Kagome growled before grabbing the receiver. "I thought I told you I needed some sleep, Inu-Yasha!"

"_Inu-Yasha?" _

Kagome froze as the voice proved to be someone else's. Stuttering before catching her voice again, Kagome furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to concentrate on the voice. "Oh I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else…"

"_Someone who you should stay away from Kagome, I thought we talked about that earlier, didn't we?" _The voice drawled out, making goosebumps rise on her arms.

"Who is this?" She asked immediately, fear pricking her thoughts as she narrowed it down to one person.

"_You should know."_

Slamming down the phone at once, Kagome got out of her bed and reached down behind the table which held the phone. Following the cord with her hand, Kagome was about to pull the cord out when it rang again.

Kagome looked at the phone as it rang. Meeting up with him in the elevator was mere coincidence, having him follow her to the private resort for their two week vacation at the beach was creepy but she could handle it. Figuring out where her friends lived and bringing them to her was freaky but she decided to ignore it. However, having him find out her name, where she was staying, which bedroom she was in _and _her phone number was just plain scary. Pulling out the cord so the phone immediately shut down, Kagome looked towards the curtains before slipping back into her bed.

What if Naraku was standing right outside in the balcony?

Having those thoughts pass through her mind numerous times, Kagome finally gave into her fear and got out of her bed. Why was there a blackout just in her time of need? Pushing open the door, Kagome stepped into the corridor and looked around.

The entire villa was elapsed into darkness. Hesitating, Kagome decided to walk to either Sango's or Ayame's room and spent the rest of the night sleeping on their floor or something. Trying to remember which way it was, Kagome put her hands out in front of her to make sure she wouldn't bump into anything on her way. She was making progress as she slowly walked up the staircase. They had said their room was right above Inu-Yasha's room hadn't they?

She slowly made it to the fourth floor and turned to walk in the corridor. Smiling as she realized their room was not so far away now, she increased her pace. She was just about to turn a corner when she bumped into a rock hard body, making her stumble in her slight jog.

"Kagome, what're you doing running about this late?"

Looking up, she squinted as she tried to see who it was. Spotting silver hair, she pinpointed her guess to one person. "Inu-Yasha?"

"Never… _ever _mistake me for that loser again!" Sesshomaru yelled out and turned on a flashlight in his hand. "I mean, really – can't you tell the difference? I'm way better looking than him."

Relief washed over her. Finally someone who could protect her! Immediately jumping onto him, Kagome hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad I bumped into you!"

Sesshomaru looked down at the small figure hugging him. "Um… Kagome? I already have a girlfriend…"

Rolling her eyes as she pulled back, Kagome looked up at him. "I don't mean it that way!" Grabbing his flashlight, Kagome shone the light around the corridor, making sure Naraku wasn't hiding somewhere nearby. "It's just that there's this guy, who's in love with Inu-Yasha. So because he thinks that I'm Inu-Yasha's girlfriend, he's been stalking me ever since and he called me and -."

"Whoa, slow down… I think you ate too much before sleeping." Taking his flashlight back, he motioned Kagome to follow him. "You probably dreamt it; we have high security around this place you know?"

Gaping at him, Kagome shook her head. "I didn't dream it! Right after I finished talking to Inu-Yasha -."

"See Kagome, you _were _dreaming, it's highly impossible that you and Inu-Yasha have a normal conversation, so you were probably having a nightmare." Sesshomaru replied casually, turning around to head back to his room. "Anyway, what _are _you doing up here?"

Frowning as she realized he wouldn't believe her, Kagome walked beside him. "I'm… uh… scared of sleeping in my room alone tonight so I was going to head to my friends room and -."

"Why don't you just go sleep in my room?" Sesshomaru asked suddenly as he stopped at his bedroom door and turned the handle. "I'm probably not going to be sleeping tonight, so you can have my bedroom until morning."

Smiling, Kagome nodded, taking up his offer immediately. She was just too exhausted to resist. "Thanks…" Pushing open the door, Kagome was about to head in before a question popped up. "Hey Sesshomaru, why aren't you going to be sleeping?"

"Blackouts freak me out… so I wont be able to fall asleep until I have some light in my room." He replied casually, "And if you're scared, I'll come check on you from time to time."

Kagome's face lit up with a smile. "Thanks _a lot._" Walking into his bedroom, Kagome didn't even think once before jumping into his bed and delving into the blankets. "Goodnight Sesshomaru!" She yelled out before he shut the bedroom door.

Before he could close the door, Sesshomaru glanced at her. "You mean Good morning,"

Kagome's bad mood returned to her at once and she grumbled. "Whatever."

_x.x_

Naraku narrowed his eyebrows as he paced back and forth in front of the Taisho's villa. He needed to get inside, but his one key to open the gates for him had hung up on him. Stomping his left foot on the ground with anger, he threw his cell phone on the ground. "I need to get INSIDE."

Jumping onto his cell phone, he crushed it mindlessly. He was about to squash the already tattered cell phone bits into smaller pieces when a light bulb lit in his mind as a car slowly made its way towards the Taisho's gates. Smiling at once, he ran immediately towards the car, jumping onto the front window. Clinging onto the cresses with dear life, the car immediately jerked to a stop.

Just as soon as the car stopped, the door clicked open and Tiffany stepped out hurriedly. "Oh my god, are you hurt?"

Feigning fake injury, Naraku rolled over the car and dropped to the pavement and clutched his stomach. "Oh god, my stomach…" he yelled out, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

Widening her eyes with terror, Tiffany ran up to him at once, crouching down to study his face. "Should I call the hospital? Oh my… just lie down, you'll be fine." Standing back up, she quickly ran back to her car, grabbing the phone which was attached to the car.

Peeking at her with one eye, Naraku made sure she was completely facing the other direction before standing up.

Furiously punching the numbers, Tiffany waited impatiently as the dial tone rang.

As soon as someone picked up on the other line, she was about to speak but was jerked away as someone grabbed her stomach and pulled her back. Her voice hitched in her throat as someone clamped a hand across her mouth. Squeezing her eyes shut in natural instinct, she tried yelling as the figure pulled her back into the shadows of the trees.

Naraku grinned as the small figure tried wrenching away from her grip. She was completely hopeless. "Shhh, let's try to keep quiet." He whispered into her ear and dragged her all the way to the curb, throwing her in a taxi he had stolen from a local taxi department. Closing the back door in which he had thrown her in, Naraku got in the front seat and started the ignition.

Trying to catch her breath as the fright scared her half to death; Tiffany got up from the floor of the taxi and immediately went for the door. Panicking as she couldn't open it, she turned towards the driver. "What do you want from me?!"

"Oh you'll find out." He said, grinning from ear to ear as he turned around to face her.

"You're the guy who I just bumped into!" She yelled out and looked outside the window. He was driving her away from the villa. "Take me back _right _now!"

"Oh, I'll take you back, after we have a little chat at my home." He drawled out slowly, letting go of the wheel with one hand. Reaching into his pocket for something, Tiffany let out a small whimper as he pulled out a gun. "Now you better be quiet or I won't hesitate pulling the trigger."

Freezing as he pointed the gun at her, Tiffany nodded silently in understanding, not daring to say a word even then. She had no clue who he was… or _what _he wanted with her but whatever it was, she didn't have a good feeling about it.

_x.x_

Opening her eyes lazily, Kagome blinked as she heard the alarm clock go off. Diving her face into the fluffed pillow, she decided to ignore the alarm clock and fall asleep again. After all, she barely had any sleep last night. Breathing quietly, Kagome picked up another pillow and put it on her head to block out the sound completely. From the shade of sunlight streaming through the curtains, she could tell it was still raining as the whole room was bathed in a sea of light gray. She was just about to fall asleep again when the door banged open.

"Sesshomaru, for god's sake – your alarm clock has been ringing for an hour!"

Kagome's eyes fluttered open for a second before she murmured gibberish and closed her eyes again. Ignoring the man's yelling, she kicked off her blanket which someone had placed on her as feeling of humidity crept upon her.

As soon as she had kicked off the blanket, the yelling stopped at once, just to be replaced by the alarms clock annoying ring again.

"Kagome, what the hell are you doing in Sesshomaru's bed?"

Sighing as she realized neither the alarm clock would stop ringing nor the boy would stop yelling, Kagome threw the pillow off of her head and got up hazily. "What time is it?" she asked, ignoring the man's questions.

"Nine Thirty?" He replied, though with confusion, he walked up to her and jumped on the bed. "So, what're you doing in Sesshomaru's bed?"

Yawning as she stretched her arms, Kagome looked towards the angry half demon that was sitting cross legged on the bed. Lowering her arms to her shoulders so she could quickly massage them, Kagome shrugged. "I didn't want to sleep in my bedroom last night."

"So you slept with my _brother?" _Inu-Yasha asked disbelievingly, the confusion in his eyes slowly flickering to something Kagome couldn't differentiate.

Looking at him as she tried to shake away her sleepiness, Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I slept with him knowing fully he was head over heels in love with Rin and was soon to get engaged."

Raising his eyebrows, Inu-Yasha thought for a while. "Are you serious?"

Grumbling, Kagome scoffed. "Of course not, you moron! He wasn't even in his bedroom the whole night so I slept here while he did whatever he wanted to do outside until the lights came back on."

Nodding slowly, Inu-Yasha looked back up at her. "I see…"

Pushing him out of the way, Kagome crawled off the bed and jumped onto the carpeted flooring. Stretching her legs before she slipped into her fuzzy bunny slippers, Kagome looked outside to check if it was still raining. Sure enough, the rain was pouring down just as hard as it was last night. Letting her mind wonder off to other quarters of her thoughts, Kagome was about to step out of the room before she realized something. "Oh, Inu-Yasha?"

"Huh? Yeah?" He asked, and looked back at her innocently, surprising her for a second as she saw that he, for the first time didn't have the stubbornness she always saw in his eyes.

"What are you going to be doing tomorrow?" She asked meekly, hoping to god he would be gone somewhere so he didn't disturb her birthday.

Thinking, Inu-Yasha remembered his date with Mona and nodded. "I'm going out on a date with my girlfriend."

Smiling at once, Kagome squealed at once. "That's great!" Not bothering to explain anything to him, Kagome jumped once in happiness before running out of the door.

Inu-Yasha stared after her disappearing figure. What was all _that _about? Scrunching his eyebrows, he flopped down on his brother's bed.

Wait a minute.

"Isn't tomorrow her birthday?"

_x.x_

**The chapter isn't as long as some other chapters, but the thing is… I hadn't expected the night events being so long, so most of this chapter's contents were pushed into Chapter Sixteen.**

**Anyhoo, I'll try updating fast… so until next time!**


	16. Rainy Revolutions

**Hey peeps! Alright, just before I start the chapter, I'd like to mention that Miroku _has _been introduced to the story before! Twice, actually! Once to Kagome, and once to Inu-Yasha. And if anyone's forgotten… Mr. Taisho (Also known as Taisho) is the father of the family… and thanks a lot for all the support you guys are giving me, it's awesome! **

………………

**Chapter Sixteen **

**Rain Revolutions **

………………

Mr. Taisho sighed as he looked at the piles and piles of paper piled upon his desk. Squinting, he rubbed his temples before looking back up to the calm client in front of him. "So your name's Miroku?" he asked, looking down at the beige folder he had placed on the desk.

Miroku nodded once before shifting in his seat. "Yeah, I'm from the Winter Resort Organization, Maxi-Cold."

"I see." He said simply and picked up the folder. Opening it up, he quickly skimmed the contents before looking back up at Miroku. Examining his features, he clicked his tongue before leaning back in his chair. "How old are you?"

Startled by the question, he hesitated before answering. "I'm nineteen."

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he looked at the boy in shock. "You're as old as my son; Inu-Yasha's turning nineteen in two months."

Smirking, Miroku shrugged. "I guess I'm just a tad further than him academically then."

"True." Taisho replied before letting out a chuckle. Here was a boy who was the boss of a five star winter resort which was famous universally and was the same age as his son. Which by the way, hadn't done so well in school and decided to set his career far away from anything that concerned intelligence. Shaking his head at the coincidence, Taisho picked up the contract sheet and skimmed it, placing the folder back in front of Miroku. "So you wish to create an alliance?"

"Yep." He replied smoothly and leaned forward. "Even though our winter resort is considered one of the best in the world, we're short on visitor needs." Quickly brainstorming, he came up with an idea. "For example: Toilet Paper."

"Toilet paper?" Raising an eyebrow at once, Taisho laughed at the thought. "How're you short on Toiler Paper?"

"Well," Stopping to think for a minute, Miroku looked at Mr. Taisho straight in the eye. "We do have toilet paper but not the best quality and who wants rashes on their ass, eh?"

Laughing loudly, Taisho nodded. "I like your style," Smirking at him, he continued on. "So what else would you need?"

Miroku brainstormed again, knowing that the man wasn't giving in to the idea easily. "We could think up of something, and together we'd make the _best _winter resort. I mean, there's only one resort stopping us make our way to the top. Also, once we _reach _the number one spot – tons and tons of people with millions of dollars will be stopping by our gates and we'll be making, estimated, more than a billion dollars a year."

"Well, I -."

"How about you and your family can stop by any time for free?" Miroku added on quickly, knowing that if he declined the offer was near disastrous for the resort.

"That's -."

"And everything will be paid for beforehand, free of charge -."

This time, Taisho cut him off. "Like I was going to say numerous times before, I agree!"

Blinking, Miroku stopped midway through his negotiating. "You agree?"

"How couldn't I?" He replied, grinning at Miroku's astounded face. "Sounds like a great idea… and there's nothing to lose anyway." Taking a red ink pen, he signed his signature on the contract and handed it back to Miroku. "Nice doing business with you."

Miroku smiled broadly. "Thanks!" Getting up from his given chair, he shook Taisho's hand first before stepping back. "I'll talk to you later then."

"For sure." He said back with a smirk and waved slightly as Miroku walked out the office door. "And I'm hoping you weren't kidding when you said we could come in for free!" he yelled right before Miroku closed the door.

Grinning, Miroku jumped as soon as he closed the office door. Another alliance accomplished! Sliding happily across the shiny floor, he ran into the elevator and pressed the first floor. His days thinking up of excuses for the Taisho Empire to join his were over! Smiling giddily, he whistled a happy tune as the elevator proceeded down. Now all he had to do was go to the villa, spend the last few weeks of his stay there and then go home. Thinking of the villa, he stopped his antics for a minute to let his mind wonder off to Inu-Yasha. "I wonder how he's doing."

Sighing, he shook his head at his last meeting with Inu-Yasha. It hadn't taken much for him to squeeze out the reason of the feud between Inu-Yasha and Kagome but when it had come out, it had nonetheless been a bit shocking. Thinking for a few moments, Miroku made up his mind as the elevator stopped at the first floor and opened to the lobby. "Today I've got to talk to Inu-Yasha again." Walking out the office building, Miroku stepped out into the rain and ran towards his car. Growling with frustration as his clothes got soaked to his skin; he quickly took out his car keys and jumped into his car, heading straight back to the villa.

_x.x _

Inu-Yasha took a sip from the can of coke he had in his hand as he slowly walked down the corridor of the villa. He had just exited Sesshomaru's room in realization that Kagome's birthday was tomorrow and the fact that he was going on a date with his girlfriend just meddled up his plans. Not looking at where he was going, he yelped in surprise as he bumped into a firm body. Groaning as he accidentally spilled coke over his shirt, he looked up angrily at who had disturbed his walk.

"So Inu-Yasha, what were you thinking about?"

Ignoring Sesshomaru, Inu-Yasha shrugged before letting his brother's comment roll off his shoulder. "Leave me alone." He snapped, walking away from his older brother without a glance.

Running up to Inu-Yasha, Sesshomaru ignored his comment and walked beside him. "No can do."

Rolling his eyes, Inu-Yasha walked down the steps idly, watching Sesshomaru follow him from the corner of his eye. "Waddaya' want?" he finally asked, stopping to a halt.

"Hmm, nothing." Sesshomaru replied, but his actions told differently. Punching his coke bottle out of his hands, Sesshomaru stepped in front of him. "So, you've been acting differently these past few days."

Glaring at him as his coke can rolled down the stairs, Inu-Yasha growled. "What'd you do that for?"

"Forget _that_." Folding his arms across his chest, Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "You know, you've been nicer to Kagome."

Growling lowly in his chest, Inu-Yasha looked up at his older brother. "Your point is?"

Sesshomaru shrugged. "I'm just pointing out that you've been nicer to Kagome."

Scoffing, Inu-Yasha stuck out his tongue at Sesshomaru before pushing him away. "Meh." He said nonchalantly before continuing his walk. "There's nothing to it."

Sesshomaru smirked. "I never said there was."

Growling, Inu-Yasha turned around to punch his brother in the guts. But before did, he yelped as Sesshomaru grabbed his hand twisted him and locked him in a headlock. "Gah! Let me go, you asshole!"

"Not until you tell me why've you've been acting nicer towards Kagome." Grinning down at his younger brother, he tightened his head lock on him, taking his other arm and punching him in the guts. "Or I'll beat you black and blue."

"I told you before, there's nothing _to _it!" Snarling as his older brother punched him harshly on the shoulder, he tried to escape. "Let me GO!"

"Not until you tell me what I wanna' know!" He yelled back, and kicked him with his knee. "You know you can't escape, I'm a hell lot stronger than you."

"In your dreams, _fluffy." _Inu-Yasha shouted out, emphasizing on the last word. Though he wished he hadn't said as Sesshomaru slammed him on the railings and tightened his grip harshly, making it harder for him to breathe.

"Don't you dare say that again!" Punching him again, Sesshomaru growled. "So, spill it!"

Trying to squirm out of his brother's grip, Inu-Yasha winced as he felt his brothers claws dig into his skin. "Where'd all the brotherly love go, man?" He asked in a desperate attempt for him to let him go.

Ignoring his question, he gave him a noogie, earning a loud yell from Inu-Yasha. "You going to tell me or not?"

"I got nothing to tell!" He shouted and winced again as his brother punched him again. Trying to get out of the headlock, he growled as Sesshomaru kicked him in the shins.

"You got one last chance to spill it." Sesshomaru drawled out, threatening to throw his brother down the steps.

Knowing his brother wasn't bluffing when he said he'd throw him down the stairs, Inu-Yasha yelled as he slowly moved him to the edge of the step. "She's gotten taller!" He yelled out before his brother pushed him off the step.

Grinning as he got at least _something _out of his younger brother, he stopped his swing. "And…?"

Inu-Yasha felt his stomach tense. He'd murder Sesshomaru if he later found out someone was listening. "Her skin's much softer."

Sesshomaru held in a chuckle. "What else?"

Growling, Inu-Yasha tried to pull off Sesshomaru's arm. "What else do you want to know!?"

"You want a broken arm or not?!" Sesshomaru snapped back, swinging him off the step, almost making him lose his feet.

Dreading his brother would throw him down the staircase like he had done numerous times before, Inu-Yasha caved in. "She's not as ugly as I thought."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "That's not good enough for me."

"Ugh, she's prettier!" Inu-Yasha shouted out, hoping he wouldn't have to say anything else.

"Anything else?" Sesshomaru asked, stopping all movement at once.

"She's -."

"Sesshomaru, you aren't bullying your younger brother again are you?"

Dropping Inu-Yasha at once, Sesshomaru straightened his posture. "Of course not." He replied automatically, offering a small smile to his mom as she approached them. "I was just… uh… seeing how his head was doing."

Glaring at his brother, Inu-Yasha got up from the floor and rubbed the sore spots he had punched. "I'll get you back for that." He snapped at Sesshomaru and would've lunged at him right there and then if his mom hadn't been standing between them.

Shaking her head at her two sons, she turned towards Sesshomaru, "You _do _realize that you're late for a conference?"

Staring confusedly at his mother for a second, Sesshomaru widened his eyes in realization. "Shit." And with that, he turned around and ran down the steps. In a minute, he had reached the front door and had walked out without looking back at Inu-Yasha even for a second.

"He _did _beat me up, mom!" Whining, Inu-Yasha frowned childishly as he looked up at his mom. "I'm serious -."

"You know, you've become nicer to everyone." Looking down at Inu-Yasha, Mrs. Taisho leaned down to kiss his forehead before straightening up and glimpsing at the watch. "Alright, I've got to go make sure your father's eaten breakfast at work. Take care." Winking at Inu-Yasha, Mrs. Taisho turned around and walked down the stairs, leaving the bemused Inu-Yasha to himself.

As soon as his mom was out of ear shot, Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow as he stood up. "What the hell is wrong with everyone?"

"Oh, Inu-Yahsa!! Remember me?!"

Tilting his head to the left, Inu-Yasha looked boringly at Miroku as he walked up the stairs. "What do you want?" he snapped out angrily, his mood dampened by the annoying nagging of his brother and mom.

Sighing as he approached Inu-Yasha, Miroku shook his head. "I see you haven't changed one bit since last time I saw you."

"_Finally _someone who thinks I'm the same!" Throwing his hands into the air, Inu-Yasha exhaled deeply in annoyance before turning his back to Miroku. "Anyway, what do you need me for?"

"Uh…" Running up to catch Inu-Yasha as he walked away from him nonchalantly, Miroku frowned. "I thought we could get to know each other." Then seeing the expression sent his way, he added on "As _friends._"

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "When?"

"We could drink hang out, annoy people, drink beer." He replied, thinking up of the most casual pass-time he could muster.

Grinning, Inu-Yasha nodded briskly. He needed a break from all the tension in the home and spending the day annoying the hell out of people and drinking beer seemed perfect at the moment. "Sure."

Smirking, Miroku punched Inu-Yasha lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, you aren't as bad as I thought you were." Laughing at Inu-Yasha's exasperated expression as he said that, Miroku chuckled. "So I heard that there were a few hot chicks getting pampered on the fifth floor right about now?"

"Where'd you hear that?" Stopping to look at Miroku, he eyed him cautiously as he saw the suggestiveness.

"I have my sources." Grinning as he saw the glint in Inu-Yasha's eyes, Miroku felt an idea pop into his head. "Want to crash their hangout?"

Inu-Yasha smirked, a certain someone popping into his mind. "Now, how could I resist something like _that_?"

_x.x _

Hours later after she had awoken, Kagome was having the time of her life on the fifth floor. Kagome sighed as the massager moved his fingers down her back impeccably. If she had to decide, she was sure this was the highlight of the past week. Smiling as he soothed out the sore muscles in the back, she wondered if her friends were having as much fun as her. Feeling elated as he pressed her shoulders, she wondered how the hell someone could learn to massage a persons back like he was doing right now.

Letting out another contented sigh, Kagome felt a tinge of disappointment as the clock rung, meaning her massage period was over. Flashing a bright smile to her massager as she got up, Kagome stretched her arms before slipping back into her bath robe. "Where to next?"

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Sango came rushing in the room, her face lit with dabs of pink. "I don't know which moron Inu-Yasha just befriended but I _seriously _don't like him." Pulling Kagome a few steps towards the door, Sango hurried on. "I mean, he just came and started flirting like crazy and first we thought he was okay until he started molesting us!"

Raising an eyebrow, Kagome looked outside the door, flinching as she heard Ayame scream in the other room. "What in the world?" Walking out the room with Sango straight behind her, Kagome popped her head from behind the corner and widened her eyes as she saw Ayame furiously punching a black haired man as Inu-Yasha laughed behind her.

"Inu-Yasha." Kagome drawled out. Narrowing her eyes, she left the comfort of the room and walked across the hallway, knowing if Inu-Yasha was there, the situation simply _couldn't _be good. As she neared the room where it could be clearly seen that both the men were cornering her best friend, Kagome growled before opening the door and storming in. "You just _had _to come in and ruin our day didn't you?"

Looking back as he heard Kagome's angry voice, Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "Hey, it was Miroku's idea to crash your hangout, not mine."

Standing up in self defense, Miroku feigned a face of hurt. "Don't force all the blame on me!"

Making a face at Inu-Yasha, Kagome turned to Miroku. "You're the guy who asked me to sleep with you!"

"You asked her to **_sleep_** with you?!"

"Hey, I ask everyone that!" Holding up his hands as Inu-Yasha's eyes flickered with anger, Miroku backed up to the wall. "It was a long time ago too!"

"But it's not like you should care, right Inu-Yasha?" Ayame popped up, bringing silence to the room as every eye trained on Inu-Yasha as she finished her sentence.

"Uh…" Fidgeting on the spot, Inu-Yasha glanced around the room swiftly. What the hell? Where did the wench come up with _that_? "Yeah, of course… not." Wincing as he heard himself stumble, he regained his speech. "I mean, yeah, whatever."

Raising an eyebrow, Sango winked at Ayame before interrupting the silence, a plan forming in her head. "Talking about you both," Smiling, Sango walked in between them both and folded her arms across her chest. "I find it pretty hard believing that you both are dating."

Grinning, Ayame joined in as she saw what Sango was doing. "I mean, seriously, you both practically look like your going to break up any minute."

"I have no clue how the media's falling for it."

Kagome looked back and forth between Sango and Ayame, not liking how the topic of the conversation swerved dangerously to them both. Was it just her or did it seem like her friends were up to something? "Uh… does it matter?"

"Of course it does!" Raising her voice, Sango ignored the disquieted glares she was receiving from Inu-Yasha. "I mean, I think some people are getting suspicious, and you both know how horribly that can damage Inu-Yasha's reputation."

Giving Kagome one cold glance, Inu-Yasha turned to Sango. "It's not my fault Kagome doesn't know how to act like a girlfriend."

Kagome felt a nerve snap inside of her. "I do _so!" _ Scoffing at Inu-Yasha prude comments, she marched up to him and glared up at him furiously. "You're the one who doesn't know how to act like a boyfriend."

Looking down at the fuming girl, Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Maybe you haven't noticed yet, but I'm the boyfriend of more than a dozen girls out there -."

"Exactly my point! You're cheating on every single one of them; see what I'm trying to say?" Glaring at him incredulously, Kagome stuck out her tongue. "I bet you couldn't stay with only one of them for over a week!"

"I friggin' hell could!" Pushing down her accusing finger, Inu-Yasha grabbed her wrists and yanked her forward, leaning carelessly close. "I bet you never even _had _a boyfriend before!"

"She's had two!" Ayame propped up in the middle, correcting Inu-Yasha's statement as she saw that Kagome was being creamed by Inu-Yasha at the moment.

"_Three!" _Almost yelling that out, Kagome was about to shoot a rude remark about him when Sango decided to bring in another statement which hit closer to discomfort than ever.

"Oh and by the way, when you both kiss, it's _so_ completely disbelieving." She said slowly, almost reveling in delight with every word. Taking up the role of matchmaking didn't seem so bad at the moment. With a pair of those two, it didn't seem so hard either.

"It's not _my _fault that Kagome doesn't know how to kiss!" Smirking as Kagome practically let out steam from her ears, he chuckled. "I mean, seriously, if I wasn't so experienced -."

"What are you _talking _about!?" Pushing him back, Kagome stepped up to him, her eyes blazing evilly. "You know you're lying straight out of your teeth!" Making a mental note at that moment, Kagome reminded herself to kill her friends later on for bringing this up. "If I kiss so badly, why the hell did you even bother to kiss me back when we were alone on the beach?"

Sango and Ayame both raised their eyebrows suspiciously at this, and not soon after, Miroku stood behind them, watching the fight amusedly.

Narrowing his eyebrows, Inu-Yasha stumbled for words as she brought up something which he thought they had silently promised never to bring back up again. "Who cares about way back when, all I'm sure about is that you don't know how to kiss!"

Faking a thoughtful expression, Kagome raised her hand to her chin. "Well, let me think for a moment. Hmm," Looking back up at him, she raised an eyebrow. "Then why the hell did you care that I kissed Kouga back at the party?"

"I don't know!"

Gaping at him in disbelief, Kagome made a face. "I can't believe you. You either know something like that… or… well, you know something like that!"

"Well, I have my reasons for punching that asshole, okay!?" Feeling his walls crumble around him, Inu-Yasha felt as if she was invading his privacy. "So leave me alone."

"I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me why you punched him; I probably just created ten enemies for something _you _did!" Kagome yelled, anger from the previous night rushing back in. "I mean, don't think that I'm going to let you go on that one."

"It's no big deal!" He shot back, his ears drooping as Kagome didn't take that as an excuse.

Not noticing the sudden change in atmosphere, she continued yelling, ignorant to the fact Inu-Yasha was practically being deafened by the tone of her voice. "So you think I'm supposed to believe that you go around punching people as a friendly gesture?" Raising her hands to her hips, Kagome waited for an answer. Getting none, she continued on. "Meaning you're some violent _demon _who goes around punching people and -."

"Shut _up _already!" Inu-Yasha shot out, hoping to god she would shut up. But to his luck, it seemed as if the favor was on his rival's side.

"I'm not shutting up without an answer!"

"There _IS no_ answer!"

"I'm not falling for that!"

"Well, you aren't getting anything out of me!!"

Grinning devilishly, Kagome let out an 'hmph'. "So you mean there _is _something you're hiding?"

"Hell no!"

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

"I just can't tend to believe you punched Kouga for no apparent reason!"

"Well, believe it then!"

"_Inu-Yasha! _Stop acting like a stubborn -."

"For god's sake, I just didn't want him to end up hurting you like I did, okay?!"

"Well -." Kagome started off, meaning to say an insult but trailing off as what he had said registered in her mind. Eyes widening in surprise, she looked up at him. "What?"

"I…" Hesitating as he found himself in an unwanted position, Inu-Yasha scolded himself, not believing what had just slipped out of his mouth. "Never mind." As Inu-Yasha let out a sigh of frustration, he headed out the door, his shoulder bumping into hers in a huff of anger. Rushing out the room and slamming the door behind him, he left Kagome to her solitude.

_x.x_

Kagome stared at the ceiling as she lay awake on her bed. It was eleven-thirty, near midnight and she couldn't even catch a wink. "Ugh, what did he _mean?" _Sitting up on her bed, she took the pillow and threw it on the bed in front of her, making it bounce off the bedspread and right onto the floor.

Groaning, Kagome leaned forward and collapsed face forward onto her bed for the umpteenth time that day. It was just her luck for Inu-Yasha to get her confused and muddled just before her eighteenth birthday. Lifting her head, Kagome turned her head to stare at the digital clock on the drawer.

_Eleven-Thirty Two _it read, making her all the more frustrated.

As long as she had _him _on her mind, she couldn't go to sleep. "So he didn't want Koga to hurt me…" Looking away from the clock, she looked at her blue bedspread blankly. "But why?" Frowning, Kagome muttered random thoughts, cursing Inu-Yasha slightly as he had avoided her the rest of the day. "If he had just said he was jealous, it'd be so much simpler."

Doodling with the blankets, Kagome looked outside at the musky weather. The rain seemed to let down, and she was hoping that for her birthday it'd be sunnier. Blinking, Kagome sighed and buried her face into the blankets, reminding herself once again of the situation.

She had no clue why but those words he had said had tugged a cord on her heart that had her wondering for hours. That was the first thing he had said to her that actually showed her he _realized _her existence in the past two years which she thought he had forgotten a while ago.

Letting out another deep sigh, Kagome took another pillow and pressed it down upon her face, hoping she could _force _herself to sleep. Closing shut her eyes; she tried to think of things _other _than Inu-Yasha.

_x.x_

Walking down the corridor, Miroku hummed a tune to himself, thinking of the events of the day. He was about to head down the staircase when he noticed light coming from a certain someone's room. Curiosity taking the best of him, he ran up to Kagome's bedroom and peeked in, smirking when he saw Kagome restlessly trying to sleep.

"One guess to what she's thinking." He whispered quietly to himself and then pulled back from the room. His mind wandering off to what had happened earlier on that day, he smiled. "People say… Love is the hardest game of all, because – how can one win when there are no rules?" Stopping for a moment, he raised his hand to his chin, a broader smile preaching his face. "Oh, I've got to write that one down."

Walking away from Kagome's room and down the corridor, he looked towards a nearby clock as it struck twelve. Remembering something that Kagome's friends had mentioned before, he looked back at her room. "Happy Eighteenth Birthday Kagome."

_x.x_

**I tried updating as fast I can, so enjoy!! Also, remember to review and tell me what you thought about it!! If I've had any typos… point them out to me! Oh, and if anyone wants to know, the "quote" Miroku says in the end is from the show 15/Love. **


	17. So It’s a Date

**Damn. I have a cold… Sorry for the late update! Lately, all I've been doing is cramming, studying and handing in projects – school has _really _started pulling me down. **

………………

**Chapter Seventeen **

**So It's a Date**

………………

Kagome yawned, moving her arm across her stomach. Blinking, she let out a dazed sigh as she slowly came to consciousness. Smiling in her half consciousness self, she closed her eyes again in sleep and pulled the balloon closer to her chest. "Pretty balloon…" she murmured as she closed her eyes to fall back asleep again. Though just as she had done so, her eyes shot wide open. "A balloon!" Sitting up in her bed immediately, she raised her eyebrows in shock as she looked around her room in surprise. Balloons and balloons were covering every inch of the room… or more or so the most.

Breaking into a big smile, Kagome squealed as she jumped off her bed, all sleepiness vanquishing into thin air. Running straight towards the small envelope on the carpet in front of the door, she couldn't help smiling as she ripped it open and read the card.

"_**Happy Birthday Kagome! Breakfast is waiting, just the way you like it!" **_

She didn't think twice before swinging the door wide open and sprinting down the steps, and only when she precariously tripped on her pajamas while running down the steps did she slow down. Letting out a triumphant yell as she saw that the sun outside couldn't have been sunnier, she quickly stopped to give her younger brother a kiss on the cheek as she spotted him playing his video game on the bottom of the steps.

"Remember what today is?" She squealed as she crouched down in front of him, earning a sleepy look from her younger brother as he looked up at her.

"Er…" Looking up at his sister, he thought cautiously for a while before slowly opening his mouth to answer. Somehow it seemed like she wasn't talking about the new superman video game he was receiving today. Seeing his sister's disappointment, he quickly recovered from his phase. "The real question is - do _you _know what today is?"

Kagome giggled, knowing that her brother had completely forgotten today was her birthday. "It's my birthday, silly!"

"Ah, of course, it didn't slip my mind for a second." Nervously smiling, Souta quickly fisted his hand inside his pocket and fished for a present. Retrieving a quarter, a candy rapper and extra batteries, he dumped the garbage into his sister's hand. "You never know when they might come handy."

Smiling nevertheless, Kagome ruffled her brother's hair before putting the objects in her pajama pockets. "Alright, I'm off to breakfast -."

"See-ya!" Souta yelled out as he furiously punched buttons of his video game, seemingly acting as if he had currently forgotten about his sister's birthday all over again.

Leaving her brother to his privacy, Kagome continued her fast pace to the dining room and almost smashed the doors open as she walked in, receiving numerous greetings as she quickly took her spot at the table. To her, it seemed like _nothing _could break her ecstatic state until she saw _him _sitting at the table. Trying to look like his presence hadn't affected her, she quickly broke into another smile. "I'm _eighteen!_"

"Happy birthday!"

"Ditto!"

"Have fun, dear."

"Yeah, have _fun._" Inu-Yasha drawled out, instantly notifying her he was still in a mad mood. Shivering as his tone of voice sent a chill down her spine; she ignored him and reached over to the jug of milk. Just before she could reach it, Inu-Yasha grabbed it and poured milk into his already filled mug. "You can never have enough milk!" He said cheerily, though everyone sitting around the table knew he only took the jug away from Kagome to piss her off.

"Of course." Glaring at him with a sugary smile, Kagome quickly snatched away the jug and poured herself milk, knowing that this was a bad start to her birthday. Trying to push Inu-Yasha's annoying, nagging and bugging voice to the back of her mind, she focused on more important things. "So… are we doing anything special for my birthday?" Grinning as Karira giggled at how direct to the point she was, Kagome waited patiently for an answer.

"Of course not, it's not like we actually care -."

"Inu-Yasha shut up," Rolling his eyes as everyone around the table fell into silence at his selection of words; Mr. Taisho sighed as he noticed his situation. "Not this again…"

"Honey, if you swear so much around them, they'll catch your habit!" Shaking her head at her husband, she didn't bother pitying the look of complete disbelief he shot her and looked at Kagome kindly. "Of _course_ we're doing something special for your birthday, Karira mentioned, last night, about a beach party and -."

"Oh, great! A beach party!" Sarcasm dropping off of every word like venom, Inu-Yasha avoided Kagome's stare at looked directly at his mom, "What fun will it be there? All Kagome will do is _stare_ at half naked guys."

"I would not!" Slamming her hand down on the table, Kagome glared at Inu-Yasha, annoyance creeping into her as she noticed he looked everywhere but her. "And even if I would, it would be none of your business, got it?"

"No, I _don't _get it, explain it thoroughly, please?" Finally snapping his eyes towards her as he sensed a fight brewing, he couldn't help but notice that the aroma between them seemed a little more tense than usual.

Sighing in frustration as he caught her off guard with the request, she fell back into her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm going to the beach no matter what you say."

"You're not going to the damned beach!"

"And since when did I become your property?"

Raising an eyebrow as Mrs. Taisho watched the fight; she leaned over slightly to her husband and drew her mouth closer to his ear. "Do you think something happened between them?"

Luckily enough, Sango had been sitting close enough to overhear the question. "Actually, yes, something did happen. Last night, Inu-Yasha 'kinda showed his feelings towards her and they seemed pretty positive."

"Ah, I see."

"Interesting." Nodding in understand, Mr. Taisho smirked as he watched Inu-Yasha's eyes flicker with something he could clearly distinguish as something _he _had felt not too long before he started to realize his feelings for his wife. "Honey, doesn't the conversation between them remind you of something?"

"Actually, it rather does -." Mrs. Taisho was about to reply but at that instant, Kagome had decided to yell out in anger.

"Why do you care so much if I drool over half naked guys?" Swerving the conversation dangerously towards him, Kagome slit her eyes in both confusion and anger as Inu-Yasha babbled on nonsense.

"I _don't_." He replied back carelessly, deciding to avoid Kagome's eyes again. Though that only brought out more annoyance from within her.

"That makes no SENSE!"

"It makes complete sense to _me._" Inu-Yasha whined back almost childishly, acting as if the conversation was said and done but Kagome wouldn't let him off easily.

"Fine, if you don't, I'm going to go out on a date with… with…" She quickly looked at Ayame for help, knowing that she really didn't have a date at the moment. Seeing that her friend didn't seem in favor of helping her, she blabbered out the first name that came to her mind. "Miroku!"

"Miroku?" Jerking forward at the name, he raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "What the hell!"

"Uh… I, erm… didn't realize I liked, liked him till last night!" She falsely lied between her teeth and hoped to god she would get out of this predicament. "I mean his jet black hair and violet eyes" she faked a dreamy voice. "… I just find them so… um… dreamy!"

Though how Kagome thought about Miroku was the least of his cares. "Why in the world would you go out with that pervert? He tried molesting your friends yesterday!"

Standing up, Kagome put her hands to her hips, "See, that's what I mean, you just said you didn't care and now you get all macho-man-ish!" She flinched at her new word and ignored the snicker from Sesshomaru. God, what a great way to start her birthday.

Pushing back his chair to stand up and meet her glare, Inu-Yasha shrugged and put on an innocent act. "Now you're just making up crap."

"Fine, I'll go out with Kouga instead!" Leaning forward on the table to get closer to Inu-Yasha, Kagome smirked though she barely felt like breaking a false smile. "Is that better?"

Growling deep within his chest, Inu-Yasha barely realized how worked up he was getting and didn't even know why he _was _reacting to her going out with another guy. Though for some reason, thinking about her flirting another guy seemed… unfair? "You know I hate that guy, why would I want you to go out with _him?_"

Narrowing her eyebrows, Kagome swore she felt like blowing up into a billion little pieces right now. Everything he was saying didn't make sense. Going on with her plan, she quickly remembered another boy she greatly disliked. "Jeez, I'll go out with Naraku then!"

"Who the fuck is Naraku?" Hiding the wince as his father kicked him on the knee for swearing around the dining table, Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrow at Kagome, "Well, whoever he is, he sounds like an asshole."

"Then I'll go on a date with Sango!"

"He sounds like a pervert!"

"_Hey!" _Gaping at Inu-Yasha from her seat, Sango scoffed and stared at him with both confusion and a slight bit of anger.

"See, you didn't even realize Sango's a _girl_, which proves your just listing off insults from the top of your head!" If someone had placed a mirror in front of Kagome, she could've seen how red she was from yelling so hard and she was about to continue when Ayame interrupted, seeing a loophole.

"Okay Inu-Yasha, why don't you prove to Kagome that every other guy is an asshole by taking her out on a date?" Smiling innocently as she caught them both in a dangerous predicament, Ayame had to hide her giggle as Sango gave her a high five slap under the table.

"Fine!" Falling back down on his chair, Inu-Yasha didn't even think over what he had just admitted to doing, and seeing what Kagome said, it looked like she didn't either.

"_Fine!" _She replied icily and sat back down, deciding to stare at her breakfast instead of him.

"Fine!"

"F-I-N-E."

And at that moment, everyone fell into silence, no one daring to say a word. For Ayame and Sango, it was almost insanely too good to be true that their plan had worked out perfectly, for Sesshomaru, the show had been nothing but amusing and to Karira, and the parents, it was completely surprising.

The sunlight that was washing down upon them from outside just seemed to make the situation even hotter and for the first time in two days, Kagome felt the heat of summer once again. Fidgeting for a few seconds, she looked back out the windows to see the beautiful garden in which the pets the Taisho's kept could be seen scurrying about everywhere.

It was only after a few minutes; Kagome looked back from the window and stared directly at Inu-Yasha. "What party?" she asked, remembering he had said that he would take her to a party.

Before Inu-Yasha could reply, Mrs. Taisho decided to take on the liberty of breaking it to her. "There's a formal party we've been invited to at night. Usually people go with dates but it doesn't matter if you go single. It starts exactly at nine and it's very formal so if you end up wearing a t-shirt and jeans to the party, they'll kick you out."

"I see…" Kagome replied, only now realizing what she had gotten herself into. "So where is it being held?"

"The Grand Banquet Mansion," Mr. Taisho replied while eating his cereal. "It's a pretty big place so try to keep yourself from getting lost."

Kagome nodded, figuring out herself that she would have to wear a dress with those wretched _heels _again.

Great.

A date with Inu-Yasha on her birthday.

What more could she ask for? _Simple Answer. _She thought to herself. _Anything else. _

_x.x _

Tiffany tried yelling despite the gag in her mouth. How long had she been handcuffed to the metal bars sticking out of the hearth? Straining her eyes, she felt as if she couldn't move a muscle in her body. Blinking, she gave up yelling and looked blankly at the darkness that invaded her surroundings. She had no clue where she was, she had no clue how long she had been locked in this hell hole for. All she knew was that she had drugged by an injection. She struggled to breath, god, for all she knew – it could have been a hypodermic injection and had created hypoxia.

She felt a sickened shiver run down her spine. Squeezing her eyes, she tried to rid her mind of all thoughts. The last thing she needed on her mind was to think she was going to die. Taking in a deep breath from her nose, her heart lightened as she felt her breathing return to normal. _Stay Calm… Stay Calm… _

Repeating those two words over and over again in her head, she finally opened her eyes again and this time, tried to listen to her surroundings, knowing that she couldn't see.

The eerie dripping sound of water falling onto concrete reached her ears. She tugged on her restraints. Her throat was burning, and she needed water. The sound of the dripping only provoked her for release even more. Looking up, she widened her eyes as she saw small square holes revealing small patches of light. Widening her eyes, she struggled to feel what she was handcuffed to and surprised herself as she realized it wasn't a hearth but a ladder.

She knew where she was. She was in the sewers. Whimpering, Tiffany struggled to squeeze herself out of the handcuffs. Didn't creepy big spiders live in sewers? Or even worse, rats? Feeling her breath quicken once again, Tiffany whimpered again as she felt four small feet quickly patter across her stomach – confirming her guess. She was surrounded by rats.

"I see you've awoken."

Letting out a suppressed yell, Tiffany almost jumped out of her skin at the voice. She hadn't expected anyone to come, thinking that her kidnapper had left her to die. Regaining her breath, she tried to see the man and only squinted when he shone a flashlight at her, the blinding light making her squint.

Leaning down, he ripped away the gag and smirked. "Hello."

Taking quick short breaths with her mouth, Tiffany gathered up her courage and spat on his face. "Don't…" Taking in more breaths as she felt short on it, she gulped and kicked her legs wildly as he disgustingly wiped her spit off of his cheek. "Kill me."

"Oh I couldn't do that, you're going to be my pawn for the next couple of weeks. I'm going to give you tasks and if you don't complete them -." He stopped to reach into his pocket, revealing a tape recorder as he pulled his hand back. "I play this on every radio station, news station and internet."

"What's the hell is on it?" She asked bravely, putting up a brave face, though she didn't have to argue to make him press the 'play' button.

Inu-Yasha's teasing laughter came soothingly out of the tape player, shortly followed by Kagome's puffed anger.

"_Oh shut up Inu-Yasha."_

"_Not my fault! It's just that you're the first girl I've seen who doesn't know how to walk in heels."_

Tiffany raised her eyebrow at this. Why would this be so confidential? "What's so -." She froze as the tape continued to play on, widening her eyes even larger than before as she heard what was recorded.

Laughter erupted again, and it sounded like Inu-Yasha was teasing Kagome, and not soon enough, Kagome decided to speak up again.

"_Hey, it's not my problem if I don't like to walk in slanted shoes that hurt my knees!"_

The next few seconds passed quickly as Tiffany heard Kagome trying to walk in the heels. This was definitely before D.A.H.A. and even before she had arrived. Muttering was heard which Tiffany couldn't hear. She had a feeling of dread and her dread was confirmed as an unfamiliar voice spoke up, one of which belonged to an elderly lady.

"_Oh, I forgot you both were pretending to be a couple... never mind."_

Her stomach felt as if it was digesting itself and she suddenly jumped back from the daze she went into as she felt blood in her mouth, realizing soon enough it was her own blood as she had bitten her lip hard enough. Looking up at her kidnapper, she watched him click the tape player off and waited for him to speak.

"So do we have a deal?"

It didn't take a genius to tell Tiffany what she had to do, nodding; she gulped as she studied his face. "Tell me what you want me to do."

_x.x_

Inu-Yasha looked confusedly at Sango as she pulled him to his room and quickly glimpsed at Ayame from behind to see her pushing him hurriedly. "Could you explain to me what we're doing again?"

"We're getting you ready for the date!" Ayame said, giggling as usual and smiling even wider as she saw Inu-Yasha blush. "Aww, the puppy is -."

"Shut up." He snapped out and allowed himself to be dragged to the dresser room. Usually, he would've pushed them away at such a thing but for the first time in a _long _time – he actually felt nervous. Mentally deciding, he accepted the fact that he might need a-lot of help, careless of the fact it was Kagome's actual friends helping him.

Due to the quarreling at breakfast, the rest of the day was spent outside in the gardens where Kagome was wooed with tons and tons of gifts. After the presents were given, the family decided on playing a few games to lighten the atmosphere. They had also planned to watch Kagome's all time favorite movie: "Titanic" but decided on watching it after they came back from the party.

Mentioning the party, Inu-Yasha looked at his watch on his wrist and realized it was only a half an hour away. It was already eight thirty and Inu-Yasha hadn't even thought about what he would do on the date. Walking through the dressing room door, he was thrown onto the chair and he quietly watched as Sango turned around and locked the door shut.

"Let's get started shall we?" Ayame said sweetly and gave Inu-Yasha a warm smile. "We've already worked our charm on Kagome and she looks _beautiful._" Emphasizing on the last word, she relished in the delight she was having playing matchmaker. "What should you wear?"

"Well first, take off that T-Shirt, and off with the Baggy Pants." Sango ordered and started to take out the supplies she had brought with herself, not paying attention to Inu-Yasha's surprised expression.

"You want me to _what?" _

"You heard me, and you're wearing boxers aren't you? So off with the clothes." Hushing Inu-Yasha like a little baby as he tried to fight back, Sango patted his head as he gave up and threw off his T-Shirt, hesitating before pulling down his pants, revealing black, knee length boxers.

"Now what?" He asked with dullness in his voice, doubts coming into his mind.

Taking out a spray, Ayame shook the bottle before spraying the cologne over his chest. "Kagome loves this cologne." Trying not to get _too _distracted by his six pack, she sprayed it lightly, not too much but not too little.

Allowing the girl to spray the stuff over him, Inu-Yasha looked down innocently as Ayame pulled back and put the lid back on the cologne. "Okay, now sit down."

"Why?"

"Because," she replied nonchalantly and pushed him back onto the chair when he didn't do it by will. As soon as his bottom reached the leather seat, Sango started rubbing his cheeks with lotion, making him cringe at the pace she was going.

Pushing Sango's hands away, he cringed as he smelt the scene of pink roses. "Hey, watch it! I don't put this stuff on!"

"But if Kagome kisses you on the cheek, you want to smell nice, _right_?" Counter-attacking all of the statements that followed almost _everything _they did to him, it took a matter of twenty minutes before he was ready.

Standing up, he looked at himself in the mirror. Nodding slowly, he looked at himself from all sides before giving a sign of approval. "I don't look as bad as I thought I would."

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Duh."

Checking himself one more time, Inu-Yasha smirked. He was wearing a decent black button up shirt which was open from the front, revealing a red T-Shirt. After a few arguments, they had decided on baggy pants which went up to his ankles with a spiked metal belt at the waist. His shoes had been another major issue, and he ended up wearing black joggers. All in all, he looked casual but the price of the outfit (summing up to more than two thousand dollars) definitely told otherwise.

Muttering a vague 'thanks' to Ayame and Sango, he was about to leave when he realized something. "Wait, are you two coming to the party?"

"Uh… we…" Looking at Ayame, Sango shrugged. "Well, I don't think we were invited."

Smirking, Inu-Yasha waved his hand as if to push the matter away. "That's bullshit, get dressed and jump into one of the limos."

Leaving the two girls shocked as they could be, Inu-Yasha ran down the hallway and ran inside the elevator just before it closed. Time to pick up his date.

x.x

Kagome looked nervously at herself in the mirror, trying to calm her nerves. "What in the world was Ayame _thinking!" _Shaking her head in frustration, she brushed her hair for the umpteenth time that day. If it wasn't for her stupid friend, she wouldn't have been so worked up right now and wouldn't have been going on the stupid date with Inu-Yasha.

Stupid.

That's what she thought of the situation right now. Absolutely stupid. Liking her lips, she applied on red lip gloss before sighing and looking at herself in the mirror.

Jeez, if only she hadn't been lying about the date with Miroku. Any guy seemed like a better choice to go out on a date with at the moment, she'd even bargain to go out with Naraku if it meant avoiding dancing with Inu-Yasha at the party.

Wait a minute.

If the party was a formal banquet, didn't that mean…

Kagome sighed. "Right now, I want to kill the person who created slow dancing." Shaking her head, she felt even more nervous as images of her slow dancing with Inu-Yasha crept into her mind. "God, damnit." Cursing as she saw her cheeks turn pink, she turned away from the mirror and smoother out her red dress her friends picked out for her. It wasn't super fancy. It went up to her knees; the spaghetti straps to hold up the dress delved into a cross at the neck and flowed down at the back.

However, the accessories she was wearing were the main things that lit her up. Her black heels made her half an inch taller, the bright red and black jewel embedded on the necklace hung around her neck and the gorgeous black earrings on her ears made her all the more beautiful.

Pacing back and forth slowly in her room, her mind wandered off to what was going to happen at the party. What if Inu-Yasha ditched her? What if he embarrassed her? What if he swore at her in front of everyone? What if he –

Rubbing her temples, Kagome calmed herself down. If he did either of the above, she would do them back. So no harm done. She was just on the verge of tension when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Taking a deep, _deep _breath, Kagome mentally prep-talked herself before walking up to the door and opening it.

Just as planned, Inu-Yasha was standing in front of her, hands in his pocket, looking just as worried though he was trying his best to hide it. Looking up at her, she could tell he quickly skimmed her outfit before smirking. "Hey."

Nodding slowly, she walked out of her bedroom and turned towards him. Clasping her hands together, she nodded again. "Um… Hi."

Silence barricaded the space between then, and Kagome could practically see the date crashing before her eyes. Now this was awkward. Deciding to the break the ice, she spoke first. "Just because we're on a… date, doesn't mean you're going to act all cutesy are you?"

Grinning, Inu-Yasha chuckled. "Nah, I'd rather not." Walking towards the steps, he motioned for her to follow. "You want to get going?"

Kagome smiled. "Sure."

_x.x _

They didn't talk much during the limousine ride which ended up being rather uncomfortable as both of them, once again, ended up falling into an elapsed silence. In the end, Inu-Yasha gave up on trying to strike up a conversation as he couldn't think up of anything to say and Kagome decided the date had already become a failure.

Kagome was almost about to fall asleep as they fell into forty minutes of the limo ride. She was in the middle of yawning when Inu-Yasha finally decided to speak. "You don't look bad."

Rolling her eyes as she noticed he wouldn't get himself to saying she looked nice, Kagome sighed and went along with it. "Thanks," looking at him, she gave him a quick look over. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" He asked her as she leaned against the window.

"Nothing."

Inu-Yasha sighed in boredom and decided to give striking up a conversation one last try. "So, Ayame and Sango are here too you know."

"Really?" Looking directly at him for the first time in the limo ride, Kagome broke into a smile. "That's awesome."

Smirking, Inu-Yasha smirked. "All thanks to me. See - I'm not such a bad guy."

"Yeah, when you're not being an asshole you aren't." Bursting into chuckles, both of them were finally getting in the hang of talking when the limousine slowed down to a stop.

Figuring out that they had reached their destination, Kagome leaned over and looked outside the window and gasped at the mansion they were parked in front of. It wasn't as big as the villa though it was none the less exquisite. Warm yellow lights were shining brightly through the windows and doors of the mansion and running water (supposedly a pool) could be heard coming from the garden.

A large fountain stood right at the front, and the orchestra playing their music inside could be heard all the way outside. Hundreds of people had already been gathered inside the mansion or on the gardens, all of them wearing gowns, dresses and even tiaras and crowns.

Stepping out of the limousine as the driver opened it for her, she giggled in excitement as she saw her surroundings. It seemed like the palace from _'Cinderella_'. Waiting impatiently for Inu-Yasha to get out of the car, she almost yanked his arm off as he stood up. "Let's go!"

"Hey, calm down, the party isn't going anywhere -." Inu-Yasha was about to pull her aside to have some private time before entering but he barely had the chance as she practically dragged him inside. Entering the hall, Kagome squealed as she saw the large orchestra on the side. "Wow…" breathing out in delight, Kagome had to contain herself from jumping up and down as she saw that people were even wearing masks as if they were at a masquerade.

"You want to dance?" Inu-Yasha asked he saw her eye the couples dancing on the beautifully tiled hall dreamily.

Turning towards him, she gaped. "You mean you'll actually slow dance?" all worries about slow dancing vanished instantly as she saw the couples already dancing on the hall. "Like, _really?" _

Holding the urge to laugh at her awe inspired expression. "I guess so."

Squealing, she grabbed his hand and was about to pull him to the center of the hall when she spotted Ayame running after a familiar someone. Stopping to a dead stop, Kagome gasped silently as she realized Ayame was chasing the one and only Kouga. "Uh, Inu-Yasha…" Watching Ayame walk up the steps, she frowned in worry as they disappeared into a room and not soon after, Sango went running in after them.

"What?" Trying to find what she was staring at, Inu-Yasha was about to ask what she had seen when a scream filled the room.

"INU-YASHA!"

Inu-Yasha widened his eyes in dread as he recognized the voice immediately. Taking in a deep breath, he let go of Kagome's hand instantly and turned around, cringing as he saw Mona stomp up to him. As soon as she reached him, she pointed an accusing finger at his chest.

"What the _hell _are you doing here with HER?" Pointing at Kagome, Mona growled as she recognized the girl as the one in the headlines. "You said you would go on a date with ME!"

"You said you'd go on a date with _her!" _Snapping around to the steaming girl, Kagome narrowed her eyebrows and turned to Inu-Yasha, her mood doing a three hundred and sixty degree turn. "I knew you couldn't go a day with sticking to one girl!"

"No – see -." He tried to talk but winced as both of the girls' voices overlapped his.

"You dare to cheat on me with that bitch!" Pointing an accusing finger at Kagome, Mona glared at her, and picked up her blue dress to walk closer to Kagome.

"You calling _me _a bitch? Haven't you ever seen yourself once in a while!" Yelling at the top of her voice, Kagome didn't even care that they were gathering attention. Right now, all she cared about was defending her dignity.

Interrupting their fight as Inu-Yasha noticed the stares they were receiving; he pushed Kagome back from Mona who seemed ready to kill. "Why don't we discuss this ?"

"I'm not discussing _anything _with you!" Yelling at Inu-Yasha in front of the dozens of guests watching them, Kagome glared at him before turning around and running up the steps to where Ayame, Kouga and Sango had disappeared. She _knew _she had gone too far when she thought he might actually have some respect for her now. Running into the room, she was surprised as she saw Miroku, Kouga, Ayame and Sango talking peacefully with each other.

As soon as she entered, Kouga had jumped away from Ayame as if she was made of electricity and sent her the most suspicious smirk she had seen. Ignoring him as if he was just another stranger, Kagome walked into the room and flopped down on the bed beside Sango, steaming off heat.

"Shouldn't you be with Inu-Yasha?" Ayame asked, a tad disappointment at how distant Kouga had become when Kagome entered.

"Apparently he's with his _other _date." Grumbling she glanced at Kouga and with all due respect, she talked to him in the rudest manner possible. "And what're _you _doing here?"

Holding up his hands in defense as she shot him a cold glare, he sent her an innocent frown. "Well, am I safe to say I was invited too?" Then quickly turning his frown to a smirk, he showed his left fang. "I told you Inu-Yasha was a no good scum."

"What the hell did you just call me!" As if on cue, Inu-Yasha stormed inside, his petite and supposedly 'girlfriend' followed him behind, her long blue dress almost making her trip as she tried to keep up to his pace.

Growling as he saw his arch rival, Kouga walked up to Inu-Yasha and pushed him back. "Cheating on a girl is the lowest thing a guy can do."

"I never asked you for your opinion!" Pushing him back, Inu-Yasha was about to say something when Mona ran inside the room and quickly closed the door behind them.

Soon enough, she had barged upon Kagome, cursing as loud as the music outside.

Though Kagome didn't have to ask her friends to defend her as they quickly came and pushed Mona back, yelling off their own curses as Mona hit a sore spot and started to insult Kagome's parents.

However, even though Inu-Yasha wanted to go separate the two girls, Kouga had grabbed him and they would've gotten into a bloody beating if Miroku hadn't stepped between them, trying with all his might as both the half demon and demon tried to grab each others throat.

"I've _had _it!" Pushing Mona away, Kagome stomped up to the door – not caring about Inu-Yasha and Kouga as they tried to throw a punch at each other, "I'm leaving this damned place!" Grabbing the knob she turned it and pulled.

And pulled.

Narrowing her eyebrows, Kagome let the doorknob go and tried to turn it again.

Almost breaking the knob as she tugged and tugged on it, she could swear she was about to hyperventilate. Panic rushed in her abdomen at once as she realized the situation she was in. This couldn't be happening.

No, it just couldn't. Not on her eighteenth birthday. "Oh god, no." Pulling the knob with all her might, she scanned the door in search of a lock. No locks. Biting her lips in worry, Kagome hit the door in frustration. Turning around, Kagome kept one hand on the knob before she looked at the chaos suing the room. "You guys," She whimpered as she felt her guts churn at the thought. "We're locked in."

_x.x _

**Ouch… I think this chapter was a little too long… almost closing in on 6000 words. Oh well, review and tell me what you thought of it! **


	18. Locked In

**A quick update, Yay- Also, I haven't done this in a _long _time but I'm going to reply to a few reviews – alright, so here goes:**

Secret-punk-rocker**: Hmm… Let's see, when _is _Kagome going to get kidnapped? I've thought about it but I'd rather keep it a secret as to if it's actually going to happen, so I guess you'll have to wait! **

Nyehaan: **Haha, I can't believe you actually remember that! Yup, I got the games during somewhat between November and December!**

mz. Peoplez: **Aw! Haha, no need to get your guts twisted, so sure! This chapter's for you, so enjoy! **

**That's about it, though I have to say something to all those who wished Mona to die horribly by jumping out the window, haha, I laughed my head off reading those reviews! However, you haven't seen the worse of her yet.**

………………

**Chapter Eighteen **

**Locked In **

………………

"It can't be locked!" Running up to the door, Miroku gently pushed Kagome out of the way and took the knob in a firm grip.

As he pulled on the knob, the door didn't budge.

"Hold - Hold on, it's probably jammed." Grabbing the knob with both hands, he pulled on it forcefully. Wrinkling his forehead as the door wouldn't either pull in, or pull out and the knob would jam whenever he turned it, Miroku slammed his hand on the door. "Maybe someone locked us in from the outside."

"Why the hell would someone do that?" Wrenching out of Kouga's grip, Inu-Yasha walked up to the door and forced Miroku out of the way. "You guys are probably just weak." Taking a hold of the knob, Inu-Yasha turned it viciously, and bit his bottom lip in anticipation as the knob came to a dead stop as he turned it left. Trying again, Inu-Yasha took both of his hands this time and turned it. "I think I got it." He squeezed out from his suppressed form.

Though one glimpse at his hands, and anyone could've guessed he _didn't _get it. His palm was bright pink from the pressure building up in his muscles and the fact that the door was still locked didn't help to confirm the theory.

"Move over, weakling." Kouga's stubborn voice came from behind as he stepped up behind Inu-Yasha, "It's probably just jammed."

"For your information, if my Inu-Yasha bun can't do it, no one can!"

"Oh, please don't make me sick." Rolling her eyes as Mona swooned over Inu-Yasha; Kagome scoffed and turned around, heading straight for the red velveteen bed. Collapsing onto the cushions as she got to it, she let out a deep sigh of deprive. They were locked in, and her eighteenth birthday had officially been – ruined. Feeling anger boil inside of her as Mona imitated her in a prude fashion; Kagome stared at the ceiling as a fight broke up between Kouga and Inu-Yasha.

As chaos ensued the room, drowning it in complete havoc, Ayame made her way to Kagome and sat down beside her.

Mona on the other hand, was yelling on the top from the top of her head. "Oh my _god,_ so we _are_ locked in? I can't _believe_ it!"

"Well, if it weren't for you, Mona, we wouldn't **_be _**locked in!"

Turning around to glare at Sango as she dangerously accused Mona of being the faulty – Mona growled in her stomach. "You're accusing _me _of getting us in this mess? What are you TALKING about? I'm _perfect!_ I can't do anything wrong!"

"Oh great, we have another _'I'm miss perfect' _here." Ayame drawled out, "Inu-Yasha, what the hell were you thinking when you asked her out!"

Inu-Yasha stared blankly at Ayame for a moment before answering. "I _wasn't _thinking."

"Excuse me!" Widening her eyes in surprise, Mona swiveled around to glare at Inu-Yasha. "What'd you just say?"

"Leave me alone." Flickering his eyes towards his annoying, one of a kind girlfriend, Inu-Yasha returned her glare. "I'm not in the mood of arguing with you."

Even though she was close to tears as she listened to the argument, Kagome picked up on what Inu-Yasha just said. "Yet you seem to be in the mood with arguing with _me _whenever you want."

Inu-Yasha groaned in frustration. "I forgot I had a date with Mona. It was an accident. If I remembered, I would've cancelled my date with," Feeling all eyes settle on him as he said this; he tensed "with… you or her."

"See, Kagome – he can't even decide between you and that brat of his, for me – I see the obvious answer." Sensing the fact that Kagome was about to burst into tears, Kouga walked in front of Inu-Yasha to sit beside Kagome. "I'd choose you."

"Aw, thanks." Smiling lightly at Kouga, Kagome was about to say something when her sixth sense kicked in. Taking a cushion without word, she covered her ears at once, just in due time too. As soon as Kagome had thanked Kouga, Inu-Yasha had pricked a fight with his arch enemy at once.

"Just go back to the dog pound you came from."

"I'll make you pay for that."

Looking up at the fighting pair, Mona innocently brushed her fingernails against her dress. "Could you two fight further up? I don't want you coming too close to me."

Kagome groaned as the room filled with shouting. No matter what Mona said, she ended up pissing Sango or Ayame off – which evolved into larger fights. Not only that, as the catfight continued on between the girls, Miroku watched silently as Inu-Yasha and Kouga continued to battle. And this time, Miroku didn't bother getting up to stop them as they ended up physically beating each other. Frowning, Kagome looked around the room. She so badly wanted a sanctuary right about now.

Sighing in misfortune, she glared at the clock on the mantelpiece as it struck eleven-o-clock. "An hour until my birthday's over." She whispered to herself. Deciding to get up, she was just readying herself to stand up and try opening the door again when Mona's heel came flying her way. Ducking, Kagome raised an eyebrow as it fell clumsily into the unlit fireplace. "What're you trying to do to me _now?_"

"I didn't mean to do that - shoe slipped off when I tried to kick your friends." Giggling with a sugary smile, Mona went back to fighting at soon as Kagome acknowledged what had happened.

Kagome flopped back down on the bed. Grumbling to herself, she cringed as she heard Inu-Yasha break something in the room. "I wish I wasn't here." She murmured as the yelling in the room simply increased.

x.x

Twelve-o-clock. Midnight.

That's what the clock read.

"You suck." Someone in the room muttered to no one in particular.

"You suck more." Sango replied with venom as she matched the voice to Mona. "Stop pissing me off."

"I can piss you off as _much _as I want to." She replied, sticking out her tongue prissily. Tearing her eyes away from Sango, she smiled at Inu-Yasha as he sat in the corner of the room. "Honey, why are you sitting so far away from me?"

Rationally thinking, Inu-Yasha grimaced as his 'girlfriend' noticed the distance. "I don't know." He replied, knowing if he crossed the line and said something rude – the room would once again burst into yells.

"Well if you don't know, why don't you sit next to me?" She asked angelically, patting the vacant spot beside her. "I need someone to cuddle up to."

"I don't feel like cuddling."

"Then just come sit next to me."

"No."

"Why not?"

Inu-Yasha sighed and looked at Mona who was sitting right across the room. Out of all the people he'd sit next to, she was on the end of the list. Well, almost as Kouga took the honor of being the last. Not showing any emotion on his face, he leaned back against the wall. "I just don't feel like it."

"But -."

"Give it up." Kagome said out loud as Mona's nagging voice pulled her last nerve. "Can everyone just _shut – up?_" Glaring at everyone in the room, she mentally made point of where everyone was as she quickly surfed her eyes across the room.

Ayame was still sitting beside her on the bed and Sango had willingly sat down on the floor. Mona, who stingily whined about ruining her dress if she sat down, had finally taken seat in front of the door. Kouga, who had a red bruise on his cheek, was glaring at Inu-Yasha silently from the fireplace and Miroku (who remained quiet) was sitting a few feet away from Inu-Yasha who had taken rest beside the bed.

Everyone was tired. More or so, either they were sick of yelling at the top of their heads or they were exhausted from fighting and bruising their bodies. Miroku, from the beginning had decided to observe everything and wait for everyone to cool down and Kagome had followed in suit, and now – the entire room had elapsed into silence.

They had tried calling out for help from the door but it seemed the corridor the room was in was empty. The balcony door was jammed shut and the knob still wouldn't turn.

Kagome was staring at the nail polish she had put on when her stomach rumbled.

"You hungry?" Inu-Yasha asked innocently and was about to reach into his pocket for some chocolate when Kagome stopped him.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not, you didn't eat any dinner." Taking out the chocolate, he reached his hand out to give it to her. "You want some chocolate?"

Brushing away the chocolate icily, Kagome shook her head. "Why don't you just give it to Mona?"

Mona's head shot up with spark. "Oh, I'll take it!"

Clenching his teeth together, Inu-Yasha refrained from shouting. "You're still mad at me about having Mona pop up?"

Scoffing with disbelief, Kagome sat up on the bed and glared down at him. "It's not about her 'popping' up. It's about you ruining my birthday. Was it too much to ask for? I didn't want a perfect birthday or a glamorous one either. I just wanted a day without you ruining my mood. For the last two hours, I've been _stuck _here, listening to everyone shout and watching everyone fight. Jeez, when I grow up and think back to my eighteenth birthday, all I'll remember is that you managed to ruin it again!"

Inu-Yasha watched guiltily as Kagome held back tears.

Not noticing the sudden change in the atmosphere, Kagome babbled on. "I bet you forgot I was turning eighteen until you were reminded this morning anyway. It's not as if that mind of yours could actually remember -."

"I didn't forget!" Holding his defense as she touched a subject he actually could put a word in, he stopped her from talking. "And even though I ruined your birthday, I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, right." Rolling her eyes, Kagome was about to get off the bed to sit next to Miroku when Inu-Yasha stopped her from getting up.

"I'll prove to you I didn't want you stuck in this room." Standing up, Inu-Yasha dug into his pant pockets and searched for a minute before pulling out the desired object. "I was waiting until you were in a better mood but I guess you won't be cheering up any time soon."

Kagome folded her arms across her chest as he sat down beside her. As far as she could see, whatever he had pulled out of his pocket was smaller than his hand as he held it tightly so she couldn't see.

Looking at her, Inu-Yasha didn't even care that every single eye in the room was trained on him. For some reason, it didn't even matter. "I remember, the day before you turned thirteen; you spotted you're 'ideal' birthday gift at the mall. I would've gotten it for you then but my father wouldn't lend me half a million dollars just then." Handing the small velvet cushioned box to Kagome, Inu-Yasha watched as she confusedly took it.

"You remembered what I wanted when I was twelve years old?" She asked, surprise being the only concept of emotion rushing through her. Not receiving an answer as he shrugged, Kagome took the box in her hand. Opening it slowly, she looked inside as the lid clicked open. Almost at once, Kagome gasped as she saw a glittering bracelet lying on the pouch.

Watching anxiously as she took the bracelet in her hand, Inu-Yasha nudged her. "You like it?"

"Are you _kidding _me!" Nudging him back, she let out a deep breath. "Oh, god…" Kagome shook her head with astounding shock as she looked at the bracelet. She remembered looking at it through the glass window and she remembered the exact value of it too. The diamonds studded on the bracelet were twelve carat diamonds, the glittering light they gave off – the overall beauty of the single bracelet making her speechless. "I can't believe you actually bothered getting me -."

"It was no big deal." Grinning at her as she turned towards him, he took the bracelet and held her wrist. Encircling the bracelet around her wrist, he clicked it shut. "So, uh… Happy Belated Birthday."

"Aw, thanks a lot." Smiling, Kagome had to force her eyes away from the stunningly gorgeous bracelet to look at Inu-Yasha. "Seriously, I could thank you forever."

Chuckling to himself, Inu-Yasha smirked at the beaming girl. "Well, I wouldn't mind if you decided to become my slave… or anything."

"Oh, shut up." Rolling her eyes, Kagome giggled and was about to give Inu-Yasha a quick kiss on the cheek when someone landed harshly between them.

"What's going on here?" Mona yelled, pushing Kagome away as she came in between them both. "Inu-Yasha, what'd you just give her?"

"Her birthday present." Shortly replying, Inu-Yasha sighed in frustration as Mona latched onto his arm.

"Well, now that it's done with, you can go away, Kagome." Smiling devilishly at Kagome, Mona cuddled next to the dismayed superstar. Having that said and done, she looked up at Inu-Yasha. "By the way honey bun, when are you going to give _me _a bracelet like that?"

_x.x _

Two Thirty a.m.

The second hand on the clock seemed to still in its place, marking the third hour of the group having to be locked in the room. Kagome was still doodling with the bracelet Inu-Yasha had given her, and the others were trying to keep themselves from falling asleep. Mona on the other hand was combing her hair with her hands and Miroku was still trying to strategically figure out a way to get out.

Kagome yawned as sleep started to take its toll on her. Lolling her head back onto the pillow, she was about to close her eyes though the sudden squeal from Mona awoke every nerve in her. "What just happened?"

Looking around the room as everyone stared at her, Mona smiled girlishly. "I had a brain blast."

"Oh, _wow._" Ayame rolled her eyes and had to hold in a mocking laugh as Mona started to explain what had juts occurred to her.

Motioning everyone to gather close, Mona took a deep breath before starting. "We've been doing nothing for the past three hours. So why don't we all play a game?"

Despite earlier measures, Ayame sparked up on this. "What about truth or dare?"

"I'm in." Sango replied immediately and moved in close to Mona as she took a seat on the floor.

Lifting herself off the bed, Kagome rolled over the side and flopped down between Sango and Ayame. "I guess I'll play too." Cocking her head to the left, Kagome glimpsed at Inu-Yasha. "Aren't any of you guys going to join us?"

Miroku was the first one to cave in and sat beside Ayame. Not soon later, Kouga and Inu-Yasha took their spot in the circle.

"So we all agree on playing truth or dare?" Ayame asked everyone in the circle and nodding when they all nodded, she got up and grabbed a candle off from the mantelpiece. Placing the candle in the middle of the circle, she sat back down again and smiled. "Alright, I'll spin first – whoever the candle points to, is the victim. Whoever the other end points to, gets to ask the truth or dare." Licking her lips before spinning the candle, Ayame leaned back to see who it would land on.

It did two whole 360 degree turns before finally slowing down, the front tip stopping on Kouga and the other on Miroku.

Frowning as Miroku realized the other end wasn't pointing to a female, he asked the question despite his disappointment. "So truth or dare?"

"Dare." Viciously smirking, Kouga readied himself for what Miroku had in store.

"I dare you to…" Miroku stopped for a moment to think and as he looked over at Ayame, he grinned "kiss Ayame's heel."

Kouga hesitated on his spot before reaching over to kiss Ayame's heel. Inu-Yasha who was sitting beside him had to hold in his laugh as Ayame cringed as Kouga preformed the task. As soon as Kouga pulled back he leaned over and spun the candle, obviously unhappy having to kiss a person's heel.

As the candle came to a stop, Sango rubbed her hands together in excitement as the front pointed towards her and the end landed on Inu-Yasha. "I choose truth." She said before Inu-Yasha could even pop the question.

"Alright then," Pausing to think, Inu-Yasha looked at Sango directly in the eye. "Are you attracted to anyone in this group?"

"Uh…" Taken aback by the question, Sango looked around before blushing a tad pink. "Not _really -_." Stopping herself, she sighed before answering. "Well, kind of I guess." Not waiting for anyone to ask her anything else, she reached over to spin the candle again and on cue, it stopped after a few seconds worth of a turn.

"Aw crap." Frowning as he saw that the candle was pointing to him and that the other end was directly pointing across at Ayame, Miroku barricaded himself for the worst. "I choose dare."

Nodding slowly, Ayame smiled slowly as an idea popped into her head. "You choose dare, eh?" Flickering her gaze towards Kagome for a mere second, Ayame had to hold in a giggle as the perfect dare came to mind. "Kiss Kagome."

"Kiss _me!" _ Glaring across the circle at Ayame, Kagome gaped in disbelief. Mouthing cusses, she didn't have time to say anything else as Ayame waved her hand in front of her face.

"I dared Miroku, so he has to do it." Shrugging away Kagome's shock, Ayame sent a wink towards Sango as if notifying her of her plan.

Miroku gulped as he mentally steadied himself. It wasn't that he was scared of kissing _Kagome. _It was the fact that he was scared of the death glares Inu-Yasha was burning into him at the moment.

Glancing at Kagome, Miroku ignored the evil eye Inu-Yasha was sending him and crawled over in front of the girl. Taking in a short breath before carrying out his task, he licked his lips before leaning in and kissing Kagome.

Sango giggled as she saw Inu-Yasha's expression. It was priceless. If nothing else, Ayame was a true genius. Sango could practically feel Inu-Yasha's jealousy radiating off of him as he watched Miroku kiss Kagome, and as Miroku pulled back, Inu-Yasha looked like he was ready to punch Miroku black and blue.

"I'll spin now." Trying to ignore the infuriated stares he was receiving from Inu-Yasha, Miroku took the candle and spun it, relieved when Inu-Yasha finally took his eye off from him.

Kagome let out a nervous breath as the candle spun around, feeling exasperated. What in the world was Ayame thinking as to putting her in the spot like that? Figuring out ways she could get back at her, she didn't even notice the candle stop at her for the first time. It was only when Sango shook her shoulder when she snapped out of her daze. "Huh?"

"Truth or Dare?" Mona asked scornfully, impatience ringing in her tone.

Realizing that she was the 'victim' in this round, Kagome quickly caught herself. " I choose dare."

"Aright then, because we seem to be fond of kissing tonight, I dare you to kiss Kouga." Smiling with her signature smile, Mona enjoyed the look of disbelief passed across Kagome.

"I don't think we should play this game anymore." Getting up from his spot, Inu-Yasha walked through the circle and back to the corner he was sitting at. "It's getting boring."

"No it's not." Sango scowled, retaliating at once. "Or are you just quitting because you may be getting jealous…"

Inu-Yasha laughed at the thought, acting as if the whole idea was moronic. "I'm not getting jealous!"

Raising an eyebrow, Sango smirked. "Then why won't you play?"

"I told you already, because it's getting _boring._" Folding his arms across his chest like a dismayed boy, Inu-Yasha pursed his lips shut which usually meant he wasn't going to talk any longer.

Sighing, Sango shrugged and turned to Kagome. "Well, you still have to do your dare."

"No she doesn't."

Hiding her grin, Sango turned back to Inu-Yasha. "Oh, how so?"

Inu-Yasha hesitated, fidgeting on his spot as Kagome turned to look at him. Sighing, he gave up. "Never mind."

_x.x_

The game went on, without Inu-Yasha's presence and Kagome ended up kissing Kouga's cheek instead, much to Kouga's disappointment. They played for nearly an hour and at exactly four-o-clock a.m., they gave up the game. Kagome was nothing less than completely exhausted and Inu-Yasha had already fallen asleep. Mona, who was completely resilient, cuddled up next to Inu-Yasha without his realization.

Kouga had taken rest in front of the door and Ayame and Sango fell asleep on the floor. Miroku, who _tried _to sleep next to the girls, ended up sleeping in a vacant corner and for the moment, Kagome was the only one awake.

Trying to stay awake in the dead silence, Kagome sighed as she looked at the diamond bracelet Inu-Yasha had given her. She remembered _clearly _the day when she had first seen it.

_-_

_A twelve year old Kagome gasped in wonder as she looked through the tinted window. "Wow…"_

"_Watcha' staring at?" Popping up beside her, thirteen year old Inu-Yasha peered inside the glass and raised an eyebrow as he saw nothing to his appeal. _

_With her face glued to the window, Kagome pressed her nose closer. "Look at that bracelet." _

"_**That** bracelet?" Making a face, Inu-Yasha snorted. "What's so cool about that?" _

_Kagome rolled her eyes at Inu-Yasha. "You're so clueless. Can't you see? Look at all the pretty diamonds and…" She inhaled deeply as if in a daze. "It reminds me exactly of the bracelet Rose wore in the movie Titanic." _

"_You're still obsessed with that stupid movie?" Pulling back from the window, Inu-Yasha glanced at the price tag before turning around. _

"_It's not a stupid movie, it's one of the best ever made!" _

_-_

Kagome laughed silently as she remembered that after that day, all she talked about was the bracelet she had seen.

"Maybe Inu-Yasha _isn't _such a bad guy…" Wrenching her eyes away from the beauty which encircled her wrist, Kagome glanced towards Inu-Yasha – a tinge of jealousy hitting her as she saw Mona cuddled up against him. Looking back at the bracelet, Kagome smiled before closing her eyes. She'd apologize for screaming at him later, but for now, she needed some rest.

_x.x _

Kouga groaned as something hit him sharply on the back. Heavily lifting his eyes, he looked drowsily at the room before wincing as the object hit him again. Squinting away all the sleepiness from his eyes, he studied the clock before crawling away from the door.

It was seven-o-clock a.m. and the sun was up, delighting the room with its light. Yawning, Kouga looked back and blinked with confusion as he saw the door slightly buckle forward, stop then buckle forward again. "Uh…" Taking off his shoe, he leaned back and threw at Inu-Yasha's head, awakening him from his slumber.

"Ackk!" Rubbing his head as he suddenly awoke, Inu-Yasha glared at Kouga. "What was that for?"

"Dude, the doors alive." Pointing at the door, Kouga crawled back and raised his eyebrows as yells could be heard from the other side.

"Or, maybe someone figured out we're locked inside." Pushing Mona off from him as he saw that she was practically clinging onto him, he stood up and walked over to the door, pressing his ear against the wood. "Anyone out there!"

"Son? Is that you?"

"Dad?"

Kagome awoke as she heard Inu-Yasha speaking out to someone on the other side of the door. Forcing herself to sit up, she watched lazily as Inu-Yasha talked to whoever was outside.

All at once, something from outside clicked and the door swung open, flourishing the room with fresh air. Stifling a yawn, Kagome looked at Mr. Taisho who was standing at the door, slowly processing in her mind to what was going on.

Mr. Taisho frowned as he talked to Inu-Yasha. "Someone locked you in from the outside."

Picking up on what Mr. Taisho had just said, Kagome perked up. "Why would someone do that?" she asked, ignoring Kouga as he fell asleep again on the floor. Standing up, she walked up to Inu-Yasha and stood beside him, looking at Mr. Taisho straight in the eye.

"I don't know, but someone placed a chair directly underneath the doorknob, and the back rest was jamming the knob so it wouldn't turn." Clicking his tongue, Mr. Taisho shook his head. "No one came to this corridor the whole night because it was _off_ limits," Narrowing his eyebrows at the pair, he continued. "So you shouldn't have come here either but I guess someone was playing a prank."

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Probably, but how'd you figure we were here?"

"Well, none of you guys came come last night, so I thought you took them to a club but the time reached into sunrise so I thought you might still be here. When I came back, I needed to use the restrooms so I came up here and I saw the chair." Walking into the room, Mr. Taisho took a quick look at everyone sleeping. "I hope you didn't starve."

Kagome grinned. "Oh, no – we were fine," Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed. "I guess I'll wait for everyone downstairs then."

Nodding, Mr. Taisho walked up to Kouga who was peacefully drooling. "I'll wake them up."

Muttering a 'thanks,' Kagome walked out of the room, relieved that someone had gotten them out. Even though Inu-Yasha said that whoever put the chair beneath the door could've done it for a prank, she didn't believe so. As a matter of fact, she had a person in mind._ Naraku… _

But why would we want to lock her in with Inu-Yasha?

Unless he only saw Kagome enter the room, and hadn't seen his beloved 'Inu-Yasha' enter in after her.

"Hey, wait up."

Kagome turned around to see Inu-Yasha jog up to her. Slowing her pace so he could walk next to her, she offered a small smile as he caught up. "I'd kill the person who locked us in."

She laughed, carefully making her way down the steps. "It wasn't _that _bad being locked in."

Inu-Yasha shrugged and didn't say anything as they reached the bottom of the steps. Walking silently to the exit, he opened the door for Kagome and stepped outside after her.

Kagome shivered as soon as she stepped outside. It was obviously early in the morning as morning cold was still sweeping in the air. Looking around, she even surprised herself as she saw morning dew on the leaves and grass. She hadn't seen any since she had left the shrine to come to the Taisho's villa. Watching a bird flutter onto a branch of a tree, she was lost in her own thoughts when Inu-Yasha spoke up.

"Hey listen, I didn't want to ruin your birthday."

Surprised, Kagome shook her head. "Nah, though I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "I've gotten used to it – but, sorry about Mona."

"Oh, no, she's… interesting. But I'm real sorry for storming off without listening to your side of the story."

"That's nothing, though I didn't mean to ruin your mood last morning."

Kagome laughed. "We could go on for forever, you know?" Stopping, she turned towards him. "I actually had a pretty fun birthday."

Inu-Yasha smirked. "You're lying."

"Yeah, I am." Laughing, Kagome looked down before making up her mind as to what she was going to do. Looking back up, she quickly leaned upwards and gave Inu-Yasha a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling back. "That was for the bracelet you gave me."

Taken aback by the kiss, Inu-Yasha caught himself before stumbling with his words. "Oh, that? It was no big deal." Nodding slowly, he was about to ask her if she'd like to go out again sometime when Mona's scream was heard, coming out from the hallway. Looking apologetically at Kagome, he winced. "I think I should go see what happened."

Kagome laughed and nodded. "Yeah, she might've lost her lip gloss or something even worse."

"Yeah, maybe her facial foundation..." And with that, Inu-Yasha turned around and ran back into the mansion, leaving Kagome to her solitary self. Folding her arms across her chest, she walked towards the limo deep in thought.

It had actually been fun talking to Inu-Yasha _without _a strong grudge. Widening her eyes, Kagome stopped her pace to a dead stop as she realized something. Panicking, she shook her head.

She couldn't be. She couldn't be falling for Inu-Yasha yet _again. _

_x.x_

**Dum Dum Dum… First realization of love in the story! Review and tell me what you thought about it… point out any typos and I'll be more than glad to fix them. **


	19. A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

**Alright, March break has finally started so I'm going to try and get at least three chapters up within the week. Woohoo! Alright, I've decided before starting a chapter – I'll reply to five reviews, so here goes: **

inu-hoshi29: **Alright, you caught me guilty. I know, I know – I was supposed to update… five days ago. But, time just flew out of my hands and before I knew it, I had exceeded my due date. So sorry! **

Chat-Chan: **Ah, that must've sucked****. You were sick _and _had to baby-sit? Talk about a bummer.**

Super Ceech**: Haha, here's to my batman fanatic friend (I just found out Robin was his _sidekick_, believe me – anyone could've made that mistake). Hm, I guess so. Yes, we normal humans will never understand the way of celebrities… **

WaterGoddess – Sapphire**: When I started to read your review, I was like "Aw man, she's comparing my story." – But when I continued on, you made my day. Thanks a lot – you made me update faster… even though****I _did _exceed my due date (hehe) – anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

3rdtimesthecharm:** Thaankyou! I've been trying to make it a _little _dramatic even though the story hasn't exactly reached its climax yet… so it's no where close to as dramatic as I want it to be. Hm, I think all those emotional, love movies I've watched have finally gotten to my head.**

………………

**Chapter Nineteen **

**A Picture Worth a Thousand Words**

………………

Kagome leaned back in the swinging chair and sighed as a hot breeze flushed around her. Deciding it was too hot to stay in the villa, considering that the air conditioning system had been turned off due to some 'technical difficulties', she had walked out into the garden where it was nonetheless hotter. Pushing the swing back and letting go to allow a little movement, she pulled her legs up and quickly seated herself in a comfortable position.

Yet her decision was not made alone. Seeing that it was one-o-clock, the chefs of the villa were preparing a picnic table for the Taisho's so they could eat outside rather than in the dining room. Slipping off of the swinging chair, she made her way up to the picnic table. "Would you like some help?"

The man who was placing plates upon the picnic table looked up with a smile. "Sure."

Reaching down to take out a few utensils, Kagome was balancing six cups in her hand when a familiar voice was heard from behind her. Tilting her head slightly to the left as Inu-Yasha walked up to the table, she watched him yawn as he lazily took his spot on the picnic table as the chefs quickly prepared it.

"You could help you know," Handing him a cup, Kagome rolled her eyes at him and placed the other five cups around the table. "Anyway, what happened with Mona?"

Inu-Yasha rubbed his shoulders as he looked at Kagome with boredom. "She slipped while walking down the staircase."

Turning her head to stare at him, Kagome gaped. "Are u serious? Is she okay?"

"Apparently, she didn't scream while falling down – but when she saw that her stiletto heels had been scratched, she freaked." Inu-Yasha chuckled as Kagome shook her head to his revelation. "By the way, she's coming over again tonight."

"And you're telling me this, why?" Putting the Bruschetta Salad on the picnic table, Kagome sent him a frosty glance before reaching back for something else to address the table with.

"Because _last _time I forgot to tell you she was coming, it didn't go so well." Taken aback by the sudden chillness in her tone, Inu-Yasha twitched his ears to make sure he wasn't being delusional. "Anyway, we're having dinner up on the roof tonight – mother's wishes. It's supposed to be a family get-together."

Opening the bottle of lemonade, Kagome raised an eyebrow as she looked at Inu-Yasha. "Then why is _she _coming? She's not exactly what you would call, 'family.'"

"Well, neither are you but you're still going to be there."

Kagome scoffed. "But you said yourself she was annoying, why'd you invite her?"

Leaning back on the bench, Inu-Yasha smirked as he looked up at her. "You seem more reluctant than usual on having one of my girlfriends coming over."

Kagome froze as she was flattening the tablecloth from all cresses. Tilting her head, she laughed. "I'm not jealous."

"I never said that you were."

"But I could tell you were implying it." Turning around once to wave a quick goodbye to the chefs as they had finished setting the table, Kagome sat in front of Inu-Yasha. "All I'm saying is that it's obvious your petty friend doesn't like me. If you're going to have dinner with her, have it somewhere else."

"What're you both talking about?" Popping out of no where, Karira smiled brightly as she slipped in the bench in front of them while giving the table a quick look. "Oh, yum –Italian pizza."

Kagome laughed as she shifted her body so she could face the table. Feeling Inu-Yasha's leg brush hers, she mentally cursed herself as she realized her trail of thought. Shaking all thoughts away, she half-heartedly smiled at Mr. Taisho as he arrived at the table alongside his wife. It took a matter of a few minutes before the entire family reached the table, including Sango and Ayame who looked strangely suspicious as they sat down.

Inu-Yasha was in-between stuffing his mouth with pizza when he nudged Kagome. "Hey, Kagome – could you pour some lemonade for me?"

"Yeah, sure." She had reached for the lemonade jug and was pouring the liquid into Inu-Yasha's cup when she heard Sango's giggle. Snapping her eyes at Sango at once, she raised an eyebrow as both Ayame and Sango suddenly looked away from her. Shrugging it off, she put down the jug and went back to filling her plate with salad. "So, are we going to go anywhere else this summer?"

Her question was answered with a quick nod. "I was thinking about taking a trip to the islands where we can go on a yacht." Karira squealed as she put the idea to thought. "I mean, that'd be so much fun."

"I'll go see if we could rent a yacht for a day then. When do you guys want to go?" Mrs. Taisho smiled as Karira almost jumped out of her seat with happiness.

"Tomorrow!" Karira quickly swallowed her food before turning towards her mom. "It's going to be sunny and no sign of rain. Dad, we could go to Fenal Islands and get a yacht from there – only seventeen thousand dollars a day."

Kagome raised her eyebrows as Karira emphasized _only _seventeen thousand dollars. From where she came from – that would've been the amount of money in her father's bank account.

Mr. Taisho laughed at his daughter's idea. "I'll see if I can get that done."

Kagome was about to join in the conversation when she caught Ayame's eye staring at her. Dropping her shoulders in frustration, she leaned forward towards them. "I know you two are up to something."

Gasping, Ayame raised her hand to her mouth. "How could you accuse us of such a thing?"

Kagome slit her eyes. "Spill it."

Inu-Yasha leaned towards the girls, tuning out the boring talk his parents and siblings were having. "What're you three whispering about?"

Sango smiled, "Hold on." Leaning over to Ayame, she whispered hurriedly in her ear. "Our bait has lured in the fish!"

Crunching her forehead, Ayame looked at Sango. "When did we go fishing?"

Sango groaned and shook her head. "Never mind," It was time to set their plan in action. "So Kagome and Inu-Yasha… how's everything going?"

Inu-Yasha took a sip of his lemonade before answering. "Why do you want to know?"

Ayame brushed off his reply by laughing. "That doesn't matter anyway, let's cut the sweet talk and get to the butter. We both have some _important _inquisitive questioning to do with you two."

"Yes, _very _important." Hushing Ayame, Sango quickly pulled something out of her pocket before hiding it beneath her hands. Changing her tone of inquiry to Inu-Yasha, she put on a sugary smile. "Are you sure you and Kagome have always hated each other?"

Inu-Yasha hesitated, for some reason – he didn't like the path this conversation was taking. "It's none of your business."

Sango's smile didn't waver as she pulled out a photo from underneath her hand. Her plan was reaching the climax, and excitement was practically boiling out of her ears. Slipping the photo towards the two, she waited in anticipation as they looked down at the picture.

Kagome could've sworn she could've fainted in dread as she saw the content of the photo. It felt as if her day had just turned from good to dreadfully, mortifyingly horrific. Her guts were practically jumping around her body, her stomach had just turned into knots and her heart seemed to have just slammed against her ribcage painfully.

It was _that _picture.

Tears rushed to her eyes at once. Gulping down the rush of emotion, she didn't even both looking at Inu-Yasha for his reaction. How could her two, very best friends do this to her? "I don't feel like eating anymore." Not once did she look up from the ground and with that she left the dining table. Glad that she had her back towards them as she walked half consciously towards the villa, she let tears fall shamelessly down her face.

Sango watched in surprise as Kagome ran away from the picnic table. She had been expecting a blush and a cute predicament between them both but was _definitely _not expecting Kagome to run away from the table like that. All at once, guilt washed into her… what had just happened?

Inu-Yasha didn't look back at Kagome as she disappeared into the villa; instead, he snatched the picture before Sesshomaru could've grabbed hold of it.

"What picture is that?" Leaning over in an attempt to grab it, Sesshomaru frowned as Inu-Yasha snapped out at him.

"It's _nothing!_"

Sesshomaru stopped as Inu-Yasha scornfully glared at him. Something in Inu-Yasha's tone of voice told him clearly that it was personal. Shrugging, he fell back onto the bench and continued eating as if nothing had ever happened.

Inu-Yasha stuffed the picture in his pocket and got up from the table. His appetite had disappeared as soon as he saw the picture. Not even muttering an excuse, he walked away from the table, but instead of going through the same door Kagome had – he went around to go down the basement door instead.

Ayame watched miserably as neither of the two had spoken a word as they had seen the photo. "Sango?"

"Something tells me we shouldn't have shown that photo to them." Whispering, Sango worriedly turned to Ayame.

Ayame bit her lip and kept her voice low so the remaining family members couldn't hear. "Oh, shit. What did we do?"

_x.x_

Inu-Yasha swore as he swung the basement door open. If those two girls hadn't been Kagome's '_best_' friends, he would've called security on them. "Jeez…" Muttering cusses underneath his breath, he kicked dust off from the ground. How come when things were starting to lighten up, they had to come crashing down again?

If either Sango or Ayame had shown him that picture _privately_, it would've turned out completely different – but to show it in front of _her… _

He kicked the tire of a random car and growled when he didn't get any satisfaction from it. He knew _she_ was crying right now - probably bawling her eyes out. He had smelt the tears when she had run away from the table and it only made the whole ordeal worse.

Stopping at a red Ferrari, he growled as he opened the door and jumped into the car. Looking at the wheel, he laid his head back on the seat. He didn't have any intentions of driving the damned thing, if he started the ignition right now, he'd probably steer the car into a wall and smash it into bits. If not that, he would probably drive straight to a bar, get drunk and wake up with a hangover - which he couldn't possibly do because of the dinner tonight.

Sighing, he brought his hands up to his face. "Oh, man…" As soon as he brought his hands down, his hands went straight for the photo which he pulled out slowly.

It had been scratched a lot, and seemed like someone had been on the verge of ripping it. Flipping it over, he read the short text written on it.

**_Kagome and Inu-Yasha, at Lily Park. _**

He sighed, remembering the day all too well. It was when his friends had put him up on the dare of fooling Kagome. Flipping it back to the picture, he stared at the couple laughing in the photo.

He scoffed as he looked at them closely.

It was him, holding Kagome on his back – and she had her arms wrapped around his neck. Her long, dark hair flowed down below his shoulders and she was laughing as he tilted her to the left. Neither of them were paying attention to the photographer and seemed like they were too busy with what they were doing to even care.

Throwing the photo to the side, he stared at the wheel gloomily. After the two weeks had passed by, he had gone and completed the dare. Dumped her, trashed her, without a second thought. Closing his eyes, he ignored the gut urged feeling to just go up to Kagome's bedroom and apologize for _everything._ Instead, he rubbed his temples and continued mourning.

He had been a moron. Why the hell had he listened to his damned 'friends' and agreed to the stupid dare? Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, he glanced at the basement exit. Turning on the ignition, he quickly buckled his seatbelt. There were seven hours left till night fell, and six and a half before dinner started. He had time to drive around the city, just too cool his nerves.

_x.x _

Kagome sobbed as she lay down on her bed, not caring that her pillow was damp with tears. That picture reminded her why she hated Inu-Yasha down to his very last cell. Sniffling for air, she pulled the pillow from beneath her and threw it on the ground. Her nose was pink from all the crying and her eyes were no different. Bursting into fresh tears, she buried her face in her blankets.

She didn't understand him. Why'd he have to be so mean to her, drive her away, and then flash her an irresistible grin with his innocent allure to pull her back to him again? Sitting up, she wiped her damp cheeks and opened the ice cream box she had grabbed from the kitchen on her way in. Swallowing down her spit, she didn't care as tears fell down her face while she scooped chocolate ice cream into her spoon.

Comfort food. That's what she needed right now.

Delving into the ice cream, Kagome stopped her tears as the chocolaty goodness melted in her mouth. As she swallowed, she licked her lips with satisfaction. Each spoon made her feel better, not even giving the least bit of care that the richness of the ice cream was in no favor to her weight.

She was midway through her third spoon of chocolate ice cream when a knock was heard on her door. Sniffling, Kagome blinked away tears before looking at the door. "Who is it?"

"You're beloved friend Sango, who is extremely sorry for whatever wrong she did."

Kagome rolled her eyes as Sango walked in the door. Not even looking at her as she jumped on the bed beside her, she continued eating her chocolate ice cream.

"I can tell by the pinkness of your nose and eyes that you weren't exactly in the cheeriest mood before I came…"

Kagome forced a laugh. "Oh, get lost Sango."

"Okay, I've had it. What's going on between you and Inu-Yasha? One minute you both are enemies, but then the next you act as if you're…" Sango trailed off as she saw Kagome's expression.

"As if we're?" Finally glancing at her friend, Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind." Sango sighed, "It's just that Ayame and I thought you two would make a cute couple, so -."

Kagome gasped. "You two tried to hook us both up?" Groaning, she felt as if her whole day had been drenched with bad luck. "You don't know what he did to me two years ago, it was horrible, I mean -."

"Kagome, you should listen yourself." Stopping her friend midway, Sango took Kagome's spoon and took a scoop of chocolate ice cream for herself. "I don't know what he did to you two years ago and I don't want to know what he did to you. Main thing is, it was two _years _ago. Forgive and Forget."

"But he never apologized!" Kagome felt her face heat up with frustration. Why wouldn't she just get the point?

"So you want him to apologize? You think that after he says _'I'm sorry', _everything will turn out fine and you both will become best of friends? Sorry is just a _word. _Actions speak louder than words, Kagome."

Kagome was on the verge of another breakdown. Was Sango here to comfort her or go against everything she believed in? "But, Sango…"

"Think about it. If this whole issue is revolving around the fact that Inu-Yasha didn't ask for forgiveness, it's rather stupid. Actually, if what happened was so bad that it made you cry so badly – I bet he _did _try to apologize but you just didn't let him." Sango stopped to get more ice cream. "So, did he?"

Another sniffle came from Kagome. "Well, maybe just once – but it was stupid, right after he did what he did, he said sorry. I bet he didn't mean it."

"What if he did?"

Kagome sighed and grabbed the spoon back from Sango. "I don't care. That photo reminded me of what big an ass he is. And I'm not going to dinner."

Sango widened her eyes at the sudden change of topic. "Why!" If Kagome didn't arrive at the dinner, most chances were that Inu-Yasha and her would go into a solemn agreement to not talk for another two years. "You have, have, _have _to come!"

"No I don't. _Mona's _going to be there and Inu-Yasha's probably going to be wooing her with compliments the whole night." Licking her lips, Kagome took a bite out of the ice cream.

At this, Sango perked up. Divulging into deep thought, she let a minute pass by before answering. "You like him, don't you?"

Kagome let her eyes drop down at the chocolate ice cream. "No…"

"Yes, you do – I can tell by the way you talked about Mona. You're falling for Inu-Yasha, aren't you?" Tackling Kagome at once, Sango didn't let her talk. "Here you are, sobbing about how much you hate him and you're crushing on him too?"

"See what I mean?" Kagome threw her spoon on the bed. "I hate this, why is everything so difficult for _me? _One minute I like him, the next I don't, and then the cycle repeats itself. I don't want to fall for him; I don't want to get hurt again. I -." Kagome wiped away a few tears. "I wish I never met him."

"Everyone you meet, you meet for a reason, Kagome." Sighing, Sango frowned at her best friend in sympathy. "If you hadn't met Inu-Yasha, your life would be pretty boring you know."

"Well -."

"Kagome, I'm sorry for bringing that photo out. I know I shouldn't have, but it's done and over with. But come to dinner, okay?" Holding Kagome's hand tightly, she waited in anticipation as her friend thought for a while.

"Fine, I'll come but you and Ayame better not try and play matchmaker."

"Deal." Smiling at Kagome, Sango slipped off her bed and quietly walked outside. Leaving her friend to her solitude, she quickly ran to Ayame who was waiting anxiously outside.

"How'd it go?" Whispering lowly so no one could hear, Ayame pulled Sango off to the corner of the corridor.

"Not so good. She's pretty upset. Apparently, she and Inu-Yasha went through something pretty rough two years ago and that photo reminded her of it. She said she'll come to dinner tonight but we're not allowed playing match maker." Trailing off in grumbles, Sango shook her head in dismay.

Ayame on the other hand was shocked. "You told her what we were up to? I _knew _I should've been the one to go inside to her!" Letting out a growl of frustration, Ayame paced back and forth. "But if we don't do something, Inu-Yasha and Kagome won't ever talk to each other."

Something inside Sango clicked. "I got it!" Snapping her fingers, she grinned. "You know how tomorrow we're all supposed to go on a yacht trip? We'll stop Inu-Yasha from bringing Mona and we'll stay here too."

"How'd that help them to get back on speaking terms?" Raising an eyebrow, Ayame scoffed. "It'll just stop _us _from having fun."

"No! Don't you see? If Inu-Yasha doesn't bring Mona, _he _won't have anyone to talk to. If we don't go, Kagome won't have anyone to talk to. Sesshomaru and Rin will probably be spending time together and so will Mr. and Mrs. Taisho. Kagome and Inu-Yasha will be left alone together." Sango smiled as Ayame widened her eyes as she put together what she was trying to say.

"But what about Karira?"

Sango furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to think. "We'll have to tell her what we're planning to do so she can keep herself busy so neither of them can talk to her on the yacht."

Ayame giggled. "This is perfect…" Turning around to walk down the staircase, she stopped for a second. "But you _do_ realize we're lying to Kagome and going behind her back to do all this?"

Sango shrugged. "It's for own good… anyway, her sub consciousness is practically begging for our help."

_x.x_

Kagome slipped into her slippers as she got out of bed. Somewhat between stuffing herself with chocolate ice cream, she had fallen asleep and when she woke up, it was almost eight.

"Time for dinner…"

Standing in front of the mirror, she quickly brushed her hair and straightened her clothes. Having dinner on the roof beside the pool, underneath the moonlight would've been real nice – if only she and Inu-Yasha hadn't been reminded of the incident.

Checking herself one last time, she walked out of her room and slowly across the corridor.

She wasn't in a hurry to reach the roof at all, for all she cared – she hoped that it would start raining so they could have dinner inside where they didn't have much leeway. She stepped into the elevator and lazily pressed 'roof', a gut squirming feeling rushing back into her stomach.

It seemed the ride in the elevator took only one second, and as the elevator door swung open, she walked out cautiously. Inu-Yasha didn't seem to be here for the moment.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief as she walked out into the roof and smiled at the individuals already seated around the pool. A cool breeze was gently blowing and the stars above made it a calming scenery.

"Maybe coming here wasn't a bad choice after all." She whispered to herself. Sango and Ayame hadn't come yet. Only Sesshomaru and Rin had, and they were spending their time together around the lit up pool. Leaning over the railings, she looked down at the garden; it looked pretty cool at night.

Behind her, the elevator door swung open again and a much too familiar voice carried throughout the air. Leaning back to glance to make sure, her breath caught her throat as her eyes met with Inu-Yasha briefly. As expected, Mona was chattering beside him without a care in the world.

Looking away instantly, she returned her gaze to the gardens.

Something told her this was going to be a _long _night.

_x.x_

**Hm, so this definitely wasn't one of the 'happiest' chapters from the story, yet the next will hopefully be so. **

**I'm not promising when the next chapter's going to be posted. Hopefully… in a few days. Any-how, review and tell me all you thought about the chapter! **


	20. Care to Dance?

**There you go, I updated _four_ times during the week. Twice on my other story, and twice for Being Backstage. Hehe, yay! **

**It's the first day of spring and over here, it's snowing again… aw man. **

**  
**………………

**Chapter Twenty **

**Care to Dance? **

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Kagome rolled her eyes as she heard Mona laugh at something Inu-Yasha whispered in her ear. She clenched her fists. What could he have said that was so funny? Trying to ignore the elegant dress Mona had worn to dinner, she wondered if this reunion was supposed to be formal. Hearing the elevator door slide open, Kagome tilted her head to the left to see who had come. "Kikyo!"

The girl looked up instantly. "Oh, Hi Kagome!"

Kagome grinned, noticing she was wearing a dress as well. "I didn't know you were coming."

Kikyo shot her a smile, her lips gloss shining in the light. "Well, surprise, surprise." She walked up to Kagome and took hold of her hand. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Kagome raised her eyebrows in inquisitive surprise as Kikyo pulled her back to the elevator. She pressed the third button and Kagome looked at her, confusion evident in her eyes. "Um… where are you taking me?"

Kikyo folded her arms and stared hardly at Kagome, reminding her distinctively that she was Inu-Yasha's lawyer. Even though she was wearing a girly pink dress, her sternness shone through. "What are you _wearing?" _

Kagome, expecting something bigger, was dumbfounded. "Uh…"

"This is a _big _reunion with a formal after party!" She pulled Kagome out of the elevator as soon as it stopped on the third floor.

Kagome allowed herself to be dragged to her room. Obviously, Inu-Yasha hadn't told her the whole thing. "All I knew was that… people were coming over for dinner."

"Well, yeah, people will arrive, more than a hundred guests I suppose. It's dinner time so we eat, then everyone moves down to the gardens where there's a small party. Dinner and Dance, you could call it." Kikyo stopped at Kagome's door and pushed it open. "This is your room right?"

Kagome nodded and walked in. Clicking on the bedroom light, she made her way across the floor to her closet. "I suppose you want to see my dresses?" she asked, glancing over at Kikyo who walked up beside her. Receiving a nod, Kagome opened her closet slowly. "I didn't bring much…" she drawled out slowly and took out two of her own dresses.

Kikyo let the comment roll of her shoulder as she eyed Kagome's red dress. Completely disregarding her other one, she grabbed thered dress and grinned. "This is beautiful." She breathed out and threw it at Kagome. "Wear it."

"But -."

"_Wear it." _Seeing the hesitancy in her eyes, she pushed Kagome into the bathroom.

Sighing, Kagome stepped into the bathroom and eyed the dress. It was blood red, and flowed down to the ground. The neck of the dress curved deeply and the short sleeves were embedded with red diamond shaped gems. The upper part of the dress was as tight as acorset would be and it flowed out from the waist. She had to admit, it _was _beautiful – but the thing was...

If someone asked her the price, what would she say? _Oh, my mother made it for me._

A free dress compared to the thousand dollar dresses other girls would be wearing didn't exactly seem dignifying. Sighing, she slipped off her clothes and changed into the dress. Before stepping out of the bathroom, she put on a pair of heels to suit the dress. At least it was better than _nothing._

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she was going to ask how the dress looked when she saw Kikyo hold up a certain bracelet. "Wow, Kagome, where'd you get _this?" _

All at once, Kagome shook her head. "I'm not wearing that bracelet. It's nothing… just a gift."

Kikyo looked at Kagome with confusion. "But it's so beautiful. These have to be at least eight carat diamonds!"

Kagome snatched the bracelet out of Kikyo's hand as soon as she got to her. "They're twelve carat diamonds. Anyway, I'm not wearing it." She was about to throw the bracelet on the bed when Kikyo grabbed it back. She sighed as Kikyo gasped in its beauty. There was _no way _she was going to wear Inu-Yasha's bracelet to the dinner and party… it'd throw off the wrong message.

"If you won't wear this, then I will." Kikyo grinned as Kagome hesitated.

"Oh, fine – I'll wear it." Kagome caved in. If she let Kikyo wear it, it'll only make matters between her and the half-demon worse. Clipping the bracelet on her wrist, she admired the sparkling diamonds for a second before allowing Kikyo to deal with her hair. While Kikyo brushed her hair, she clipped on a diamond necklace and smiled as Kikyo put down the brush. "There, I'm ready."

"Good, now let's go back."

Kagome followed Kikyo out of her bedroom, deep in thought. If Inu-Yasha saw the bracelet he had given her on her wrist, he'd obviously think that she was trying to get back with him. Sighing again, she walked into the elevator and waited for it to reach the roof in silence – the one certain half demon _still _plaguing her mind.

He had actually come to the dinner and party with a date?

She leaned back on the elevator wall and studied her heels. How come Inu-Yasha was able to move on so easily, get a dozen more dates after they had literally broken up yet she was still hung up over him? Flipping her hair behind her shoulders, she waited in dread as the elevator slowly proceeded up. The more she hoped the elevator would slow down, it only seemed to go faster and before she knew it, the door was opening to the roof. Oh god, she felt so homesick.

Stepping out, she widened her eyes at the number of guests that had arrived since the last time she had been up here. More than thirty people were chattering up on the roof, obviously waiting the arrival of the people yet to come. She skimmed her surroundings, finding _a lot _of unfamiliar faces. Spotting Karira, she was walking up to her when she heard a shout from behind.

"Kagome!"

Turning around, she gasped as she saw an elderly woman walk up to her. "Mother!" Kagome grinned as she ran up to her mom, hugging her as she reached her. "I didn't know you were coming here!"

Her mom hugged her tightly, and pulled back to kiss her daughter on the cheek. "You look beautiful, Kagome."

"Oh my god, you have no clue how glad I am to see you!" Hugging her mom again, Kagome squealed again, deciding to keep the past events of the month a secret. "How was the trip?"

Mrs. Higurashi laughed as she pulled back. "I have wonderful news to tell you. But before that, how've you been doing here?"

Kagome smiled. A little white lie wouldn't hurt; anyway, she couldn't ruin her mother's mood after seeing her for the first time in months. "I've been having the time of my life."

"See, I told you that you'll enjoy it here." Mrs. Higurashi took Kagome's hand and pulled her to a few vacant seats. Asking her daughter to sit down, her smile didn't waver for even a second. "Now let me tell you the _real _reason why we went to Tokyo."

Kagome sat down on the seat beside her mom, obviously confused. "I thought it was just because of father's job – by the way, is dad here too?" Looking around, she ignored Inu-Yasha as he sent her a glance as he noticed her mom sitting beside her.

"Yes, he's here. He's talking to Mr. Taisho somewhere on this roof." Laughing as Kagome strained her neck to spot her father, she tapped Kagome's thigh to gain her attention again. "But you'll meet him later. First of all, I heard Ayame and Sango were here."

She nodded. "Yeah, they probably haven't arrived yet, but go on with what you were saying."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled again. "You know how I work as a fashion designer, downtown our city?"

She nodded again, trying to block out the loud voices talking around her. "Yeah, your trip to Tokyo had something to do with that, didn't it?"

Mrs. Higurashi took Kagome's hand and squeezed it. "Yes, we were called by the head deputy of _"Kellen & co._" and surprisingly, he told me that he actually liked my designs. Not only that, he's given me an opportunity to prove myself -."

Kagome widened her eyes. "You got hired?" From what she had heard, 'Kellen and co.' was one of the top fashion designing industries in the _world._

"I did! Isn't that great?" Mrs. Higurashi clasped her hands together and laughed. "Do you realize what a big break this is for our family? The pay is incredibly large; we won't have to borrow a dollar from the bank ever again!"

Where were her two best friends when she really needed them? Kagome squealed again, grinning as if she had won the lottery. So her mom was now working as a fashion designer at one of the most _famous _designing companies ever. Well, at least Inu-Yasha couldn't insult her for being poor anymore. "That's so awesome. Congratulations."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "But you do realize we'll have to move."

At that, Kagome froze. "How far away?"

"Well, first I have to complete my first runway show. If that goes successful…" she shook her head in wonderment. "I can't even begin to ramble about how good that'll be for us."

Noticing that her mother was trying to avoid the topic, she reminded her of her question. "But how far away do we have to move?"

Mrs. Higurashi shifted on her seat. "It depends on where I'll be assigned to. All that will be determined after the runway show -."

"So where's the runway show?" Kagome could practically hear the discomfort in her mothers tone. "And when is it?"

"I have to start preparing for it next week, and it's overseas in New York. So start packing your bags because I'm taking you with me. I mean, the preparations and everything will take at least a whole month or two and I can't leave you here again." Mrs. Higurashi studied Kagome carefully. "But if you want to stay, I'll understand."

Kagome raised her eyebrows. Tension had pricked inside of her - so she had a choice between staying at the villa for a bonus two months _or_ to spend quality time with her mother at New York. Frowning, she sighed. Looking back up at her mother, guiltiness poured in as she saw hopeful eyes looking down at her. There was no way she could decline her offer.

Smiling again, Kagome nodded. "I'll come with you."

Breaking into a smile again, Mrs. Higurashi stood up. "Alright, I'm going to meet Mrs. Taisho – why don't you go and find your friends?"

_x.x _

Kagome made her way down the staircase while chatting to Sango, Ayame and Karira who were walking beside her. After the exact amount of a two hundred and four guests had arrived, dinner had been served. Twenty minutes since then, Kagome was bloated – and what else was there to do but head down to the after party at the gardens? So far, she had met the Taisho's cousins, grandfather and uncles and had found out mostly rest of the invitations had been sent out to people who were remotely close to the family or were just good friends.

Exiting out of the villa to arrive at the gardens, Kagome surprised herself at the decorations. Half of the guests were down here already and the other half were either finishing their meal or making their way down. The music was booming at full notch and the trees, bushes and branches had been lit up with lights. The center of the garden had been transformed to a dance floor, where a few couples were already dancing. A bar had been set up beside the floor which was selling top quality drinks and a few cushioned, yet stylish sofa's were set here and there.

Her smile faltered as she saw Mona slow dancing with Inu-Yasha but she regained her posture as her friends pulled her towards the bar. Walking across the garden as Karira babbled on about something that happened while she was at a photo shoot, she tried to keep her eyes off of Inu-Yasha. Something about the way Mona had her arms around Inu-Yasha's neck and the way he was holding her ticked her off.

After seeing that photo, how could he manage to remain so calm? Ripping her gaze away from them two, she followed her friends as they ordered drinks at the bar.

"Kagome, you wanna' drink something?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

Sitting down on a seat, she grumbled as the garden filled with more and more guests, eventually blockingInu-Yasha and Mona from her view. How was it that every time she saw Inu-Yasha, she became peeved? Putting on a happy face as her friends sat down beside her, she remembered her conversation with her mother. "Oh, guess what?"

Ayame looked towards her, the glitter on her dress shining in the moonlight. "What?"

"My mom got a job at one of the most famous designing companies and she's taking me to New York next week!" She smiled, and flinched when Sango and Ayame burst into screams.

"Are you SERIOUS?" Swiveling Kagome to face her, Karira gaped. "That's _awesome." _

Sango squealed, her drink almost spilling out from its cup. "You're going _next week?" _

She nodded. "Yup," She stopped at Karira's disappointed face. "I'm sorry for not staying longer."

Karira brushed it off with a wave of her hand. "Oh, that's fine…"

Between her squeals of excitement, Sango almost dropped her entire drink as Ayame dragged her off from the chair. "_What!"_

Ayame glared at her. "If Kagome's going to go next week, what'll happen between her and Inu-Yasha?"

Sango's face faltered. "Oh, yeah…" She was about to say something when Kouga arrived in front of Kagome, grabbing both her and especially Ayame's attention.

The distressed teen looked up at Kouga. "Hey, what're you doing here?"

He smirked as he leaned down to take Kagome's hand. "Would you like to dance?"

As if on cue, the booming music changed to a different slow song and more couples made their way to the dance floor. Kagome hesitated, "Um…" Looking at Karira for an answer, she saw her shrug.

"C'mon Kagome, my parents have decided tie up a few loose ends with Inu-Yasha's parents, so why don't we do so as well?" Pulling Kagome on her feet, he smirked as she caved in.

"Sure, why not?" Sighing, she felt her guts squirm as he grinned. If Inu-Yasha could dance with Mona, why couldn't she dance with Kouga? Following him as he led her to the dance floor, she took in a deep breath as the music slowly evolved into a song. Putting on a bright smile as Kouga turned to her, she slowly placed her arms around his neck and felt herself being pulled closer as he put his hands on her waist.

Kagome glanced at Inu-Yasha who was once again in view. He was still dancing with Mona, and by what it looked like – he didn't mind a single bit.

_x.x _

Inu-Yasha let out a sigh of boredom as he slow danced with Mona on their third consecutive song. Settling his hands on her lower back, he looked at the couples dancing around him. Hearing a giggle to his left, he glanced towards where Kouga was dancing.

"Kagome?"

Mona looked up at him as he whispered her name. "What about her?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." As Mona buried her head in his shoulder again, he felt his stomach drop as he saw Kagome slow dancing with Kouga. Watching him whisper something in her ear, he felt jealousy prick him. What could have Kouga said to make her laugh like that?

Not only that, hadn't he told her to stay away from a guy like him? Not noticing a low growl emit from his throat, he didn't realize Mona glance towards where he was staring.

"Inu-Yasha?"

"Huh?" He looked down at Mona innocently, studying her confused features.

Sighing, she shook her head. "Never mind."

As she returned her head to his shoulder, he glanced at Kagome before he continued his slow dance. The song, however, started its course.

**_I've seen your face a thousand times,_**

**_Have all your stories memorized._**

**_I've kissed your lips a million ways…_**

**_But I still love to have you around._**

Kagome snuck a peek at Inu-Yasha. Mona seemed to be having the time of her life, completely immune to the hopeless glances she kept sending the couple. Sighing as the song reminded her of too many memories, she gently placed her head on the crook of Kouga's neck. For some reason, this didn't feel so right. Glancing once again at Inu-Yasha as he danced with Mona, she sighed, giving up on her thoughts.

_**I've held you too many times to count,**_

_**I think I know you inside out.**_

_**And we're together most days…**_

_**But I still love to have you around.**_

Mona sighed in frustration as she noticed Inu-Yasha's concentration pass to someone _else _other than her. Pulling back, she surprised him by folding her arms across her chest. "Okay, I've had it."

_**You're the one I want and it's not just phase,**_

_**You're the one I trust; our love is the real thing.**_

Kagome raised an eyebrow as she saw the couple break up. Lifting her head off from Kouga's shoulder, she watched as Mona glared at Inu-Yasha sternly.

**_Don't go away,_**

**_My love (my love),_**

_**I want you to stay**_

**_In my life._**

**_Don't go away,_**

_**My lover (my love)**_

**_I'm happiest when we spend time._**

Inu-Yasha watched as Mona let out a frustrated sigh. "If you're so distracted by Kagome, ask her to dance. If you won't, I'll ask her for you."

Slowly processing what she had said, he shook his head. "No – Mona,"

"Too late." Turning around, she squeezed through the couples until she had reached Kagome. "Sorry Kouga, but I'm going to have to steal your date for the rest of the song."

Kagome watched in confusion as Mona pulled her away from Kouga, leaving him to stand alone. As she saw Mona pull her towards Inu-Yasha, she tried tugging back. But it came to no use as Mona.

_**You're a salty water ocean wave,**_

_**You knock me down, you kiss my face.**_

_**I know the storms will always come,**_

**_But I still love to have you around._**

Pushing Kagome towards Inu-Yasha, Mona rolled her eyeswhen they didn't get the hint. "Will you two dance already? Kagome, believe me – he's been staring at you since you stepped out of the villa. Even though I hate you, it's annoying when your boyfriend starts crushing on another girl." Turning to Inu-Yasha, she didn't let anyone interrupt. "I think we're over. I'll see you later."

Inu-Yasha watched, dumbfounded. As Mona disappeared through the crowd, he looked down at Kagome. "Um…"

Snapping her eyes towards him, she fidgeted. "So…"

Taking a deep breath, he stepped closer. "You want to dance?"

**_Heaven knows what will come next,_**

**_So emotional, you're so complex._**

**_A roller coaster built to crash,_**

**_But I still love to have you around._**

"Alright…" Hesitantly, she encircled her arms around him, locking her hands behind his neck. Kagome felt her cheeks blush as he placed his armsaround her waist. She _knew _he could hear how fast her heart was pounding. Making sure to keep a good distance between them, all her plans were washed away when he purposely pulled her closer.

**_You're the one I want and it's not just phase,_**

**_You're the one I trust; our love is the real thing._**

Inu-Yasha moved his hand to her lower back, pulling her even closer. Feeling her settle her head on his shoulder just like Mona had done, he breathed in her scent. _God,_ she smelt so much better than Mona.

_**Don't go away**_

_**My love (my love)**_

_**I want you to stay**_

_**In my life**_

_**Don't go away**_

_**My lover (my love)**_

_**I'm happiest when we spend time (it's only you and I)**_

Kagome closed her eyes as she felt herself completely wrapped in his warmth. Completely blocking everyone out but him, she felt butterflies swarm her stomach as she felt him breathe warm air onto her neck.

_**It's you there when I close my eyes**_

_**And you in the morning**_

_**I never thought you'd still be mine**_

_**Or I'd really need to have you around**_

Trailing his lips up her neck to her earlobe, he blew in gently. "Kagome?"

_**Don't go away**_

_**My love (my love)**_

_**I want you to stay**_

_**In my life**_

_**Don't go away**_

_**My lover (my love)**_

**_I need you, you're my love supply._**

Kagome felt a shiver run down her spine despite the warmth. She caught her tongue in time. "Hm?" She responded, only _after_ realizing that what she had replied didn't exactly sound _smart. _

_**Don't go away **_

_**My love (you're my love supply)**_

_**I want you to stay**_

_**In my life (every day, every night)**_

_**Don't go away**_

_**My love (you're my love supply)**_

_**I need you, you're my love supply**_

Inu-Yasha felt his stomach squirm. It was now or never. Listening to the song as the music finished, he took a quick breath. Despite the rush of nervousness, he made sure he had her attention first. Pushing all his nervousness to the side, he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry."

_x.x _

**Holidays are over, and school starts tomorrow… oh boy… **

**The song here, is by Gwen Steffani "The Real Thing", from her CD "Love.Angel.Music.Baby" **

**When will I update next? I'm not sure… let me think about that for a while. Ackk, don't taunt me about the amount of fluff in this chapter… it was hard to write… - if you see any typos - tell me and i'll fix them.**


	21. A Party’s Spotlight

**At last! Chapter Twenty one is finished! I'm _sooo _incredibly sorry for the super duper late update! I _know _that its been three months or so and once again, I'm incredibly sorry! I guess I came upon writers block but I overcame it! I have tons of more time to write now than before so I'll update faster now! Anyhoo, enjoy the chapter! **

**  
**………………

**Chapter Twenty One**

**A Party's Spotlight **

………………

Kagome froze and the moment seemed like an eternity. Emotions that were hard to decipher rushed throughout her. Was she relieved or upset? Nervous or calmed? Overwhelmed?

She _knew_ she was supposed to say something in return but nothing came to mind which was ironic because she had waited for this moment since the day their feud began. "I…" Taking in a deep breath, she pulled out of his embrace and searched for words. "Um," Kagome gulped, why did this have to be in public? She scurried her eyes across the ground, not knowing what the hell to say and instead, did the next thing close to her instincts. "Ugh, I don't know what to say!" Ignoring the heads that turned at her proclaim, she turned around and quickly walked off the dance floor.

Inu-Yasha winced as he watched her stalk off. Letting go of his ego, he ran after her, knowing all too well that it was probably going to get ugly. "Kagome, stop!" Reaching out for her arm as he got nearer, he held in a yelp as someone pulled him back. "What the hell!"

"Yo buddy!" Miroku burped in his face, grinning as he pulled Inu-Yasha in a one sided hug. "I haven't talked to you in _ages_!"

"You're drunk!" Growling as he tried to pry out of his hug, Inu-Yasha felt a pang of hopelessness as Kagome ran further away. "Miroku, get _off _of me!"

"Why? Because that _Kagome _girl is more important to you than I am?" Pulling back from the hug, Miroku pushed Inu-Yasha back.

"To put it out bluntly: yes." Inu-Yasha readily fisted his hand to give his so called friend a punch but stopped as he watched Miroku fall to the ground. He stepped back as Sango quickly ran to his side.

"I _think_ he had a lot to drink."

"No, duh." Inu-Yasha shook his head in pity as turned back around to follow the trail Kagome. Seeing that the path she had taken led only to the villa kitchens, he left the pair behind and jogged up the lantern lit walkway. Just when he was about to reach the kitchen doors, he heard a yell from behind.

"Inu-Yasha, wait up!"

He groaned as he heard a dreaded voice. Turning around slowly, he watched in despair as his ex-girlfriend walked up to him. Her heels clicked sharply on the pavement as she took her time to reach him.

She smiled as she got closer. "Baby, if she left you during the dance, I really don't think you should be together." Mona stepped up to Inu-Yasha, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's a sign, and it's telling us that _we_ should be together."

Inu-Yasha looked down at Mona, not believing his bad luck. "I don't think it'll work out between us."

"I'll make it work."

Inu-Yasha put his hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her back. "But you just broke up with me a few minutes ago."

"And I regret it. If there's any girl who deserves you, it's me." Not noticing how withdrawn he was, she leaned up and gave him a kiss. "Now let's go back and have a few drinks."

The half demon pried her arms off from his waist. "Seriously, I'll get back to you later."

"You're still going to go after her? I mean, what do you like in her? Is it her dark hair? Because if it is, I'll dye my hair." Twirling a piece of her brown locks around her index finger, she placed her other hand on her hip. "Or maybe you like her dark eyes. They're not my favorite but I'll get contacts if you want me to."

"Mona, seriously – no. Just, please, leave me alone." Taking a step back, he thought he had won the battle but let out a sigh as she babbled on.

"But she _ditched _you! You never let anyone ditch you. What's gotten into you? I've never seen you run after someone after _they _ditched you!"

"For gods sake Mona," Bringing a hand to his forehead in frustration, he went to his last resort. "I'll have Miroku take you the next Gucci runway show if you leave me alone for the night."

Mona's eyebrows shot up and a moment of silence stretched between them.

And with that, she turned around and left.

_x.x_

Kagome barged into the kitchen, almost frightening the chefs as the door slammed against the wall. Realizing the intrusion, she stopped for a minute. "Sorry about that." The chefs merely shrugged. Kagome stepped into the large kitchen and went straight for the counter. It seemed like the hired cookers were making the next course. Gently, the girl picked up the bottom of her dress and sat down carefully on a chair, making sure she wasn't ruining her dress in any way.

Taking in calm, slow, and deep breaths, Kagome leaned her hands on her knees. It was surprising how two simple words could turn the whole night around. Maybe it would've been better if she had stayed and talked things out with Inu-Yasha. Hadn't she wanted that all along? "This is too confusing…"

"Miss, would you like something to drink?"

Kagome looked up from her lap to see an elderly man offering a tray of drinks to her. Ignoring his offer, she asked him a question of her own. "If a long time ago, you liked someone but then they really, really hurt you and then you started to hate them but then after a few years you met that someone again and you started to like that someone again but you weren't sure if they liked you back because that someone was dating someone else but the someone acted as if they had changed and then after all of that, they apologized for hurting you and you didn't know what to say because you weren't expecting it, what would you do?"

The chef looked at her blankly. "I… would be in the same position you would be in."

"And that would be?"

"I'd be asking someone else what to do as well." The chef, regardless of her depression, put down the tray in front of her and left.

Kagome watched as the chef went outside. She had just made a fool of herself but nevertheless, she looked at the pink liquid inside the glasses. She leaned down to sniff it, realizing that it was strawberry cocktail. The scent was far too sweet and she scrunched her nose as she pulled back. There was far too much flavor and not enough water.

She was tipping the glass from side to side when the kitchen door opened a latter time. However, this time, a frustrated hanyou walked in. "Didn't you hear me call out to you? I told you to stop!"

Kagome stiffened the glass in her hand frozen in spot.

"You made me look like an idiot out there!"

She glared at him. "That's _all _you care about, isn't it?"

Inu-Yasha caught his tongue, deciding to calm down. Truth be told, to him, his mind seemed like a deserted desert in to which no solution would come. He leaned on the counter and sighed. "Of course not."

Kagome scoffed. "Sure."

"So you wanna argue right now?"

"YOU started it."

Inu-Yasha grimaced, this was _not _the way he imagined this. It was completely scrutinizing. Everything he had planned for this specific moment had just fled his mind, leaving him blank.

Kagome glanced up at him, an awkward silence stretching between them both. Looking towards the wall nearest to her, she decided to speak first. "You don't mean it."

An auburn pair of eyes flashed towards her. "What?"

"You don't mean you're sorry, I bet, the minute I walk away thinking you_ did _mean it – you're going to laugh it off and, and run to your lousy friends and do stuff!" Kagome blinked away the tears and avoided eye contact.

Inu-Yasha decided to inquire. "What's the stuff?"

"I don't know, but it's probably going to be despicable in some sort of way."

"Stop with the theatrics -."

Kagome snapped. For the past few minutes, she had been doing all the talking while he just listened. "Well then, say what you want to say. Don't boss_ me _around. You're the one who followed me." Standing up, she attempted to leave but was pulled back.

"Fine, then listen." Inu-Yasha hid away the annoyance as he forced her to face him. "I do mean it, I'm not going to laugh it off when you walk away, I'm not going to run to my _lousy _friends and do the stuff you find completely despicable. First of all, if I didn't mean it, I really wouldn't have bothered saying an apology for no reason. I wouldn't have come after you or allowed Mona to break up with me -"

"You guys didn't break up." Kagome continued as she saw a puzzled expression plastered across his face. "I overheard you making up again, jeez, you were like ten feet away from here – everyone heard you two!"

He groaned. "You're the one who told me to start talking on what I really came here for, then you change the topic as soon as possible."

"I _didn't _change the topic. You're girlfriend is a very debatable topic here."

"You mean my ex-girlfriend and no it's not. It's a whole different story."

Kagome shook her head, trying as best as she could to keep herself calm. "No, I mean the girl who just kissed you – the one who you told 'oh, I'll get back to you later' right _after _she kissed you. This girl is also known as your girlfriend!"

Inu-Yasha punched the counter in frustration. "I also told her to leave me alone."

"You told her to leave you alone for the _night. _That obviously means you _want _to see her some other day!"

"Why are you reading so much into this? I don't even remember what the color of her dress was, and you've managed to remember our conversation?" Inu-Yasha quickly shifted the statement to the side. "May I know again why we're talking about my ex-girlfriend?"

Kagome let out a sigh of frustration. "Because you've managed to get her involved."

"_How?" _

"You just have."

"You're making no sense!"

"I sure am."

"You're just avoiding what we're actually supposed to be talking about."

Kagome's shoulders dropped in annoyance. She hadn't remembered him being this stubborn. "Fine, you want to talk about it, we will." Placing her hands on her hips, she looked up at him. "Why should I accept your apology when I know that you're probably just doing this for your own amusement?"

"I'm _not _doing this for my own amusement. I haven't seen those guys who dared me to prank you in ages and I don't plan to either. So if I apologized for the fun of it, why wouldn't I have called all of those assholes here to watch this?"

Kagome let out a shaky breath. "But-."

"For god's sake Kagome, if I wanted to do this for my amusement, I wouldn't have bought you that diamond bracelet you're wearing or danced with you or… or, or kissed you the night we went on that vacation."

So he remembered.

A pang of emotions hit as she remembered. Kagome gulped, knowing she was losing the battle here. Summoning up her courage, she took a deep breath. "But why _did _you kiss me?"

Inu-Yasha hesitated; fully aware they were treading on sacred ground. "Why'd you kiss me back?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, I don't know either."

Inu-Yasha looked at the floor, an embarrassed awkwardness stretching between them both. As he looked to the right, he realized for the first time that every cook in the kitchen had left and they had been left alone in the room. Unaware of _when _they had left, he settled on thinking they had gone during their fight.

Kagome rested her hand on the edge of the counter. A pair of auburn eyes stared down at her. "It's not a big deal though, I mean -." In an instant, she lost her voice as Inu-Yasha's lips pressed against hers.

Shocked beyond reason, she gasped as he tipped her chin upwards to deepen the kiss. Instinctively however, a flustered Kagome pulled back. "Why are you –." She didn't get to finish as Inu-Yasha leaned in and kissed her again. As his tongue brushed the roof of her mouth, a wave of heat rushed throughout her body.

She'll pass up on the questions this time…

Kagome tugged on his tie to pull him closer, unfortunately for her, he broke the kiss. Looking straight into his eyes, her voice came out shaky. "What?" 

"Why am I what?"

'_Oh God,' _Kagome thought. He broke the kiss to ask _that? _Disregarding his question, Kagome leaned in again and caught him by surprise. But before he could kiss her back, she pulled away. "I asked," she shivered as Inu-Yasha ran a claw against the side of her waist. "Why'd you kiss me?"

"I have my reasons." Capturing her lips again, a deep growl emitted from his chest as she bit down on his bottom lip.

Kagome whimpered as Inu-Yasha backed her up to the wall, her heart beating incredibly fast. A chill ran up her spine as she felt the cold wall press against her back and as Inu-Yasha snaked his right arm around her waist.

Pulling back for a second to catch his breath, Inu-Yasha breathed heavily, his face flushed red. In a matter of few minutes, the temperature between them had at least risen ten degrees.

Unbeknownst to either of them, someone slipped in the room behind them, gasping at what she saw. "You _guys!" _

They broke apart instantly. Staggering back a step, Inu-Yasha tried to catch his breath. "I… uh -."

"No, no, no, no! You mustn't like each other!"

Kagome looked over, surprising herself as she saw Tiffany scurry in the room. "T-Tiffany?"

"Inu-Yasha, step away from Kagome _now_!"

Kagome raised an eyebrow as Tiffany made an attempt to pull Inu-Yasha away. She hadn't seen the girl in days and now that she did, she was a hell lot surprised. Tiffany's skin clung to her bones, almost a greenish color around edges. She had lost about ten pounds for sure, and her clothes were dirty and wet. "Wow, Tiffany – where have you been?"

Tiffany stopped to look at Kagome's flushed figure. "Oh, me? Oh, no, no, you shouldn't care about me – it was nowhere important. I went to visit my f-friend and she lives in places that aren't… so civilized, that's all."

Kagome nodded slowly and then turned her attention to what she was doing. From the likes of it, she was hopelessly trying to drag Inu-Yasha away, who just stood there, glaring holes into her head. "Tiffany – what are you doing?"

"Yeah, bitch – get off of me!" Inu-Yasha snatched his arm back, stepping a foot away from the girl.

"You guys, I thought you hated each other – there shouldn't be any kissing going on. Oh, wait, I know what's going on – are you guys drunk? You're drunk aren't you?" Tiffany nodded furiously, gulping once. "Right, you guys?"

Inu-Yasha glanced at Kagome, obviously confused. "No… we're not drunk – why don't leave us alone and go wash up all the filth that's probably driving you nuts?"

"Inu-Yasha, why were you harassing Kagome… she obviously doesn't like you -."

"Tiffany!" Kagome looked at her in disbelief. "What's wrong with you?"

Tiffany swiveled towards Kagome. "Kagome, I KNOW you know him and you_ better _do what I say or he's going to hurt you!"

"Who's gonna' hurt her?" Inu-Yasha stepped up immediately, looking angrily between them both. For some reason, _why _did he feel like he was missing a piece of the puzzle?

Kagome widened her eyes in realization. It clicked instantly. Naraku had gotten hold of Tiffany. It was so obvious. No wonder she was behaving this way. Shaking her head, she looked at her straight in the eye. The fear they held in them told her to leave instantly.

"So Kagome," Tiffany tried to smile but failed miserably. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Inu-Yasha groaned. "For god's sake, wench – why the hell won't you f-."

"Sure." Kagome spat out quickly.

Tiffany let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave. "Let's walk out this way…" 

Turning to leave, Kagome was pulled back by Inu-Yasha.

"I'm extremely confused."

"Inu-Yasha, I _really _have to go."

"But-."

Taking that as good enough of an answer, Kagome rushed after Tiffany. This could _not _be happening. After all that had passed by, wasn't Naraku bored with her? Catching up to Tiffany, Kagome pulled her back. "What's going on?"

Tiffany gulped again. "Naraku, he's this – obsessed, guy, who's in love with – Inu-Yasha!"

Kagome nodded. "I already knew that."

"He told me if I don't break you two apart and get Inu-Yasha to fall madly in love with him, he's going to broadcast this tape he recorded and it clearly, _clearly _states that your relationship with Inu-Yasha is an act!" She took a deep breath. "He said he can do all sorts of things and, Kagome, I don't know what to do!"

"We have to tell the police!"

Tiffany shook her head. "We can't! What proof do we have? He's done absolutely nothing so far so we have no evidence he's astalker. I checked the phone history; he's only called the villa once – that's no stalker material. Surveillance tapes have nothing either."

Kagome groaned. "Now I'm scared."

"One more thing," Tiffany shivered in the night air. "He's coming over to the villa tomorrow, and I have to let him in -."

"No you don't! That's it, no evidence or not – I'm calling the police! They'll understand. They have cases like these all the time." Kagome attempted to finish the conversation but Tiffany was close to tears.

"We can't Kagome; he said he'll hurt me if I call the police." Tiffany dropped to her knees. "He'll know I told you, he'll broadcast the tape – he'll run out of jail, he'll kidnap you!" Tiffany wept on the ground, her past cheery self completely shattered. "He knows where you live Kagome! He knows where Sango lives, he knows where Ayame lives! He KNOWS that your parents are here RIGHT now!"

Kagome wrinkled her forehead. "Maybe… if you tell him I'll be gone in a week -."

"You'll be gone in a week?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving." Kagome tried to ignore the gut feeling in her stomach, telling her there was a part of this Tiffany wasn't telling her. "So Naraku can… hit on Inu-Yasha as much as he wants, no matter how disturbing the slightest thought of that can be." Kagome cringed as she pictured it…

"I see, ok, I'm leaving then -."

"Tiffany, you aren't telling me something!" Kagome stopped Tiffany just before she attempted to leave.

"I'm telling you everything, I mean, why would I hide something when I have totally nothing to hide because I tell you everything meaning there's nothing to hide." Tiffany grinned and took a few steps back. Seeing that Kagome wasn't going to pounce on her and beg to stay and explain furthermore, she turned around and ran.

Kagome raised an eyebrow as she saw the disappearing figure. Shaking her head in dismay at Tiffany's state, she turned around and headed inside. Evidence or no evidence, she was calling the police for sure.

_x.x _

The night stretched into daylight, and the chaos from the night before diminished into thin air. It was five thirty a.m., the morning was deadly quiet and in several rooms, the inhabitants of the house lay sleeping, completely immune to their surroundings.

Light from the morning sun crept through Inu-Yasha's red, custom made curtains, bathing the room in a rose colored glow. Snoring into his pillow, his ears twitched slightly when his bedroom door creaked open slightly. As his intruder tip toed across his floor (which was, as a matter of fact, covered with his clothes), he let his senses to rest as soon as he realized his intruder was someone of a familiar scent.

He groaned when the petite frame shook his shoulder.

"Wake up!"

"Snnffm."

"I said, _wake up!" _

Inu-Yasha slept on, unheeded by the girl's call.

"If you don't wake up, you won't get to go on the little trip I have planned which includes lots of sun, lots of nice, crystal clear water, girl's in bikini's and tanning." The girl continued on, a hint of knowing in her voice.

Inu-Yasha lifted his head off the pillow and blinked at his younger sister. "Did I hear you say girls, bikinis and tanning in the same line?"

Karira cracked a smile. "Actually, it's just a trip to the Clear Lake Islands; we'll be staying there for a night. We're leaving in an hour so we can get there early so it'd be extremely nice if you got up and contributed." Clasping her hands together, she waited in anticipation for his answer.

"Ok… whatever." With that, he flopped back on the bed.

Karira watched for a second. "You know, big bro, that means you have to get up now."

He cracked open an eye. "W_hy?" _

"Because we're leaving in an hour!"

"We're going somewhere?" He smirked as Karira yelled out in frustration. Yelping as she hit him hard with a pillow, he sat up. "I was kidding! Jeez, I'll be down for breakfast in a minute!"

"Aw, thanks a lot." She slipped off the bed but froze for a second. "Oh, wait; do you know what happened last night?"

He froze; dread creeping into the corner of his stomach. "Uh… did it have to do with me and Kagome…?"

"Well, it had to do with Kagome actually." Karira sparked up as she gained his interest.

"_Only _her?" Stretching his arm muscles while still in bed, he tried to look uninterested but was obviously the opposite.

"Sort of." Karira sat back down beside him. "It was so scary. She called the police last night -."

"Why!"

The girl sighed. "Will you let me talk? Okay, so she called the police and oh my god, it was so horrible. Apparently, this man named Naraku had been stalking her for the past month or so and he was doing it because he's in _love _with you." She ignored the surprise upon his face. "So what she told the police was, first, when she heard about him and all – she was all _'It'll pass away.' _However, it never did. It just got worse. He started calling her bedroom phone and finding out where she was twenty four/seven, it went insane. Then, just a few nights ago, he kidnapped Tiffany and told her some bogus crap and it got her all freaked out so she came to Kagome and asked her to stay away from you. Then she just suddenly left and Kagome had had enough so she called the police."

Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrows, completely surprised. Why the hell hadn't she told him about any of this? He could've beaten the living daylights out of the creep. He shook his head. "So what's happening now?"

"The police are monitoring the phone calls and surveillance tapes non stop. The security has also _tripled. _As _soon _as they get a hint on where he's hiding out, they're going to arrest him." Karira thought for a minute. "Pretty creepy eh?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "I'm not scared of him."

"Well, he's after Kagome, not you. Well… he's actually totally after you but doesn't want to _hurt _you. He wants to hurt Kagome… but if you end up going out with him and dumping him – he might want to hurt you too."

The teenager stared at his little sister. "You're such a scatter brain."

Karira laughed and shrugged off the comment. Jumping off the bed, she took a few steps before freezing again. "Oh, Inu-Yasha…"

Fully awake now, he looked deep in thought. "What?"

Karira grinned. "I forgot to tell you, there's some other news you should know about."

Inu-Yasha sighed. "Man, so much crap happened while I was asleep."

She giggled. "_Everyone _knows about your make out session with Kagome. And when I say everyone, I _mean _EVERYONE."

Inu-Yasha stiffened. "What're you talking about!"

Karira laughed evilly. "Don't try to play dumb with _me. _The door was unlocked, _SO_ many people sneaked a peek at you two! EVEN _I _SAW! I pity you!" She giggled with excitement. "Even mom and dad know! _**Kagome's** _mom and dad know. What's even funnier, SOTA even knows and he's a kid who's pretty much unaware of _everything _going on around him! Sesshomaru knows, Miroku knows, Sango knows, Ayame knows, every living person in this villa knows about the infamous kiss."

Inu-Yasha stared at her with disbelief. Struggling for a response, he stuttered. "Oh, well – psh, it – it was Kagome who started it."

Karira shook her head knowingly. "I thought that might've been a possibility, but a chef confirmed everyone it was _you._" Giving him a sugary smile, Karira laughed before running out the room.

Inu-Yasha however, had his head in his hands. "Oh … god."

He _really _needed to fire that chef and make sure he never received another job in his career again.

_x.x_

Kagome hummed as she skipped her way down the staircase to the dining table. She had a good night's sleep. It _seemed _that Inu-Yasha and her had worked things out. The police finally knew about her situation and everything seemed under control. Also, she couldn't have asked for a better morning, waking up to find out that she was going to spend a night at the Clear Lake Island. The weather was beautiful as well. The sun was up and there were no predictions of rain. _Nothing _could go wrong.

As soon as she reached the last step of the staircase, her mother greeted her with a stern face. "Kagome dear, I see you've decided accompany us to the Island."

Kagome nodded slowly. Something mixed in with her tone didn't seem right. It just wasn't every day her mother talked with such etiquette.

"Before we step into the dining room, we need to have a _small _talk."

"About… what?" Stepping off the last step, she met her moms stare.

"Oh, just follow me into the ball room."

Kagome frowned with confusion as she followed her mother into the ball room. Something seemed wrong here... though no solution to her questions came to mind. It took them about a minutes walk to reach the desired room and as Kagome stepped in, she realized immediately what was going on.

She closed her eyes in horror as it hit her. Sitting on a new, blue, lazy boy sofa was Inu-Yasha, and right beside him was _his _parents. She bit her bottom lip. They _couldn't _have found out about what happened last night.

Not knowing what to do or say, she gulped when her mother nudged her to sit on the sofa. "So… what's going on?" She said as she sat beside Inu-Yasha on the sofa.

"Well sweetie…" Mrs. Taisho cleared her throat and looked towards Kagome's mom.

Mrs. Higurashi got the hint. "We know that at this age, you two might have… _vent _up feelings and it can result to various things. But, i-if, um, you were patient… it'd… uh…"

Kagome looked over to Inu-Yasha. Apparently, he looked like he was suffocating himself or trying to depress his laughter. She settled for the latter.

"Ok, I meant – the _feelings _can result in embarrassing situations… and, and… um…" Mrs. Higurashi struggled and stopped to think again.

"What she means is, even if you two get horny, please resist making out in the kitchens during a _formal _party!" Mr. Higurashi took over, laying it out simply for the two.

Inu-Yasha burst into laughter, however Kagome seemed horrified.

"_What _are you talking about!"

"Kagome honey, were you drunk last night? Because if my son took advantage of you, we'll totally understand." Mr. Taisho put on a sympathetic face but Kagome disregarded it.

"I was _not _drunk last night -."

"Oh, so you _knew _what you were doing?" Kagome's mom slit her eyes at her daughter.

"N-no! I mean, yes, but no! Ugh, what I'm trying to say is… that… um…" She wrinkled her forehead to think. "Is that Inu-Yasha started it!"

"Oh we already knew that. The chef confirmed it."

Inu-Yasha regained his posture. "I am _so _going to bloody _kill _that chef!"

Mrs. Taisho tapped her son's thigh. "No need to get violent."

Inu-Yasha slumped back on the sofa. "Stupid… chef."

Mr. Taisho, however, turned to Kagome. "You do realize that almost every single person who attended the party knows about this now."

The girl groaned.

"And seeing what a smart girl you are, I'm just lost as to why you would let my son take advantage of you!"

"Dad, I didn't take advantage of her!"

Kagome looked sorely between the two. "Mr. Taisho, it's just as much as my fault as it is his."

"I don't believe that. The chef said that Inu-Yasha backed you up to the wall. If you had to go do all that," Mr. Taisho ignored his son as he started cussing at the chef. "You could've taken the _living _room but to do that in the kitchen, putting all the cooks on hold is completely preposterous!"

Inu-Yasha growled. "You're making it seem we ran around the garden naked or something!"

Kagome nodded furiously. "And if it wasn't for the _chef, _majority of the invited guests wouldn't have known about this because it is _entirely _our business. So blame the cook, not us!"

Mrs. Higurashi sighed and looked over to her friend. "Well,"

"You have a point there." Mr. Higurashi spoke up for the second time that morning.

Mr. Taisho nodded while in thought. "Now… sweetie;" he turned to his wife. "What was that chef's name again?"

"I don't seem to recall. He wore a blonde wig though."

"I must go and fire him…"

Inu-Yasha breathed a sigh of relief. "_Thank you!" _

_x.x_

It took a few minutes before the adults actually left. Both Inu-Yasha and Kagome were strictly reminded to watch what they do at the next formal party.

Kagome watched silently as her parents, alongside Inu-Yasha's, left the room quietly. As the adults shut the crescent moon door behind them, Kagome sat in embarrassment beside Inu-Yasha.

"So…" Inu-Yasha spoke up first.

"You don't want to talk about last night, do you?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Not really."

"I agree."

The next few moments were spent in silence before Kagome decided to get up. "I have to go eat breakfast."

Inu-Yasha looked up at her. "You go do that."

"I will." Smiling despite her pink face, Kagome walked out the room, her heels clicking on the tiled floor.

Inu-Yasha sighed as the door closed behind her.

After a minute of thought, he shook his head in confusion. "God, that girl is playing some spell on my mind." Cursing under his breath, he got up and made his way after the departed crew to the dining room.

_**x.x**_

**Hope you enjoyed it! I'm hoping my next update will be soon and I promise I wont take another three months! Thanks a lot for sticking by me even though I hadn't updated in a while! So Sorry again!**


	22. A Sudden Twist

**Hi! I promised I'll update faster! And I did! Boy, it's _really _hot this summer… so I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

Hellmouth2**: Don't worry about me quitting Being Backstage! I promise I'll write until I have the last word down.**

poIson-kiZz**: Haha, yes, the gay Naraku sometimes even freaks _me_ out. A perfect day hmm? No… I don't think I've heard of it. Hehehe… thanks a lot! You flatter me! **

**Chibineko! I haven't talked to you in ages! Where _are _you! We have SO much to talk about, dude!**

fallenangel7583**: Ah… she called the police but the deal with Naraku is _far _from over! So you can expect him to become even creepier in the next few chapters! **

**And thanks A LOT to everyone who reviewed or just decided to read along! It's been awesome! **

**P.S. – Super Ceech, you may have won this time, but don't worry – it won't happen again. **

**  
**………………

**Chapter Twenty Two**

**A Sudden Twist **

………………

Kagome panicked as she ran through the villa. Her _bathing suits… _she couldn't find her bathing suits! They were leaving any minute now, and everyone had everything they needed in bags except _her. _Why? Because in the middle of the night, her bathing suits found a mind of their own and ran off. She had sworn she had stuffed them in her bag along with her clothes but while doing a re-check, they _weren't _there! Maybe she had woken up last night and thrown them out the window when still in semi-consciousness? It _could _be a possibility. Running outside to the gardens, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw construction works pile into the beautiful garden, throwing their necessities around. She spotted Ayame looking in the bushes in a nearby corner and called out to her. "AYAME!"

The girl turned around, willingly stepping away from the thorn bushes. "I looked everywhere around here. I even asked the men, no one has seen your bathing suits."

Kagome bit her lip in nervousness. She was holding everyone back, but she couldn't go to a luxury Island without proper clothing! "Okay, well, why are there construction workers here?"

"What?"

"The construction workers!" She waved towards all the men in the garden.

Ayame blinked at the sudden change of topic. "They're building a pool. It's gonna be _pretty _big." She whistled and looked at the dimensions.

Kagome processed the information but quickly brushed it off. "Anyway, the bathing suits, have you found them?"

Her friend shook her head. "Nope, but did you search your room properly?"

"Every inch of it."

"The dining room?" 

"Yeah, even though I knew they wouldn't be there."

"Your bathroom?"

"It was the second place on my list." 

"Under your bed?"

"I keep _nothing _under my bed."

"But you never know!" 

"I checked - they're not there!"

"Inu-Yasha's room?"

"_Ayame!" _

Ayame laughed, enjoying her joke. "I'm just kidding with you. Well, I'm out of ideas. Oh! Have you talked to Miroku?"

Kagome stared at Ayame for a second before it clicked. "MIROKU!" Swiveling around, she stepped over a newly put pipe and quickened her pace to a run. Barging into the villa, she grabbed Sango from the ball room and headed to the front entrance to the villa. "I BET Miroku took them. He came into my room last night, asking if he left his polka dotted tie in my bathroom! I was probably too sleepy to actually understand what he was asking for!" Kagome swung open the front door and stepped down the three steps. She was walking angrily towards Miroku when she realized the limo was gone.

Sango stopped beside her. "Where did everyone go?"

Ayame came running out of the villa and gasped as she saw a silver car parked in front of them. "Oh my god! Is that an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish!"

Miroku smiled nervously at the three girls. "Yes, Ayame – you got the model of the car correct and Sango, my dear, the others left."

"They _what!" _Kagome stared in shock. "So… so we don't get to go?"

Miroku laughed as he lifted up the hood of the boot and hoisted his bag inside. "I got Inu-Yasha to give us a ride in his car. I mean, everyone was so impatient -."

"Miroku!" Glowing with anger, Kagome stalked up to him and pushed him aside. "I bet that's not what happened at all!" She unzipped the front pocket of his bag and shone with triumph as one of her bathing suits fell out. "I knew it!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Miroku, even I didn't know you could fall to such a degree." Sango walked over to help Kagome with her clothing. "Let me guess, you stole her bathing suits because you knew we would have to stay behind and search for them. When we three were out of your sight, you told everyone to hurry along and then begged Inu-Yasha to give us a ride."

Miroku's smile faltered. Oh god, could this woman see right through him? "B-but I have no motive to do as such. So you have no right of accusing me."

Sango glared at him. "No motive eh? You wanted Inu-Yasha to take his own car instead of a limo because then, you'll be stuck with three _single _girls with no adult supervision! I mean, Mr. Taisho is your boss or something isn't he?"

Ayame snickered as she passed by Sango. That girl was destined to be a lawyer. Her attention drifted away from the back of the car when Inu-Yasha came out of the villa with the car keys. "Hey, Inu-Yasha… are we actually going to ride in this car?"

He nodded and walked around the car to reach the drivers seat. "If I catch you spilling something on the seats though, I'll throw you out."

Ayame squealed, disregarding his threat. Clicking open the back passenger seat, she slid in the car and gasped as she looked at the interior. The car had definitely been customized. Beige, tight, leather seats had been put in the car and mini screen TV's were built in behind every seat. As Inu-Yasha turned on the music, it boomed around the car.There was definitely surround sound. Looking around like a little girl in a candy shop, Ayame's eyes sparkled at the high tech interior. Gasping as she saw a specific button, she pointed at it. "You can't be serious!"

Inu-Yasha grinned back at her. "I had it custom done. I had to pay a lot but it's worth it." He pressed the button and heard Ayame gasp as the hood of the car slid back. It was soon followed by Kagome's scream.

"When did the car turn into a convertible?"

Ayame sat on her knees and turned around, now able to see Kagome. "Inu-Yasha got it custom done."

"Oh." Was all Kagome said as she shut the boot. "So there'll be no roof for the entire ride?"

Sango waved away the comment and sat on the other side of Ayame. "Kagome, you get to sit in the middle." She said with a sugary smile as she patted the empty seat.

"Kagome can't sit in the middle!" Stopping the girl as she was about to step in, Miroku pushed her back lightly.

"Why can't I sit in the middle?" 

"Because then I'll have to sit beside Inu-Yasha!"

"So?"

"So, whoever sees us on the road, will think I'm gay because I chose to sit beside a _guy _instead of two hot girls!"

"AHA! That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Sango pointed an accusing finger at Miroku and narrowed her eyes. "If we were in a court room right now, you would've been found guilty!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and walked back to the front of the car. Clicking open the door, she slid in the front seat, making sure she locked her door. She pulled her seatbelt across her and clicked it shut, waiting for Inu-Yasha to start the car. Behind her, she heard Sango squeal as Miroku clumsily made his way to the middle seat. Apparently, he had stepped on her foot.

"What're you doing?" Turning towards Inu-Yasha, Kagome raised an eyebrow as he clicked buttons on his cell phone.

He sighed. "Someone's been calling me since morning but I can't get the person's caller ID." He shrugged. "Whatever, let's just go." Stuffing his cell phone back into his pocket, he turned on the ignition and set the gear on drive. Pressing his right foot on the accelerator, they were gaining speed when he suddenly pressed the brake.

Kagome lurched forward, catching herself just in time. "Inu-Yasha!"

He looked at her innocently. "I'm just checking the brakes." Looking back through the screen, he gripped the wheel and pressed on the accelerator again. Just as they were passing through the gates, he pressed the brakes again. This time, Kagome growled as the sudden jolt scared her half to death.

"If you do that one more time, I'm driving, got it?" Kagome glared at Inu-Yasha, and was supported by her friends from behind.

He ignored her threat. "The brakes seem perfectly fine. We can go now."

Kagome shook her head in annoyance as Inu-Yasha started the car and they finally made their way out of the villa. As they drove down the Demon Wood hills, Kagome fell into silence as the car ride stretched into minutes. There was nothing to talk about and the longer the silence lasted, the more awkward it was between them both. Suddenly, Sango screamed from behind.

"Get your _hand _OFF of me Miroku!"

"… I was just stretching."

"Well, then, try to avoid _touching _me inappropriately while doing so!"

Kagome laughed at the antics of the two behind her. Despite the fact that Miroku had met Sango only recently, she could tell the guy had a thing for her. She couldn't blame him though. It wasn't everyday when a guy met a girl who had the audacity to repel against good looks and charms and instead look for something more important such as personality. _'Beauty's only skin deep.' _That's what Sango would remind her high school friends when they swooned over the newest hottie in school.

Wondering how her teachers and friends were dealing with all the press concerning her and Inu-Yasha, she jumped out of her muse when Inu-Yasha' cell phone rang.

Grumbling, Inu-Yasha didn't pay heed to the cell phone as he went left on a turn. "Kagome, could you get that?"

Shifting hesitantly in her seat, she leaned over and reached into his pocket. As her hand clasped around the cell phone, she pulled it out and placed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"…"

She raised an eyebrow when she received silence from the other line. Shrugging, she hung up and stared at the cell screen. No caller ID was available. "I think it was your mystery caller. I say you change your number."

"It'd be the umpteenth time."

"You'd be safe though!"

Inu-Yasha shrugged and he slowed down the car as they approached a red light. They were near the ocean already. It wasn't too long of a drive, just one left turn and they'd reach the docks.

Kagome glanced at her right when a girl screamed - just realizing Inu-Yasha's car was driving beside hers.

"INU-YASHA! OH MY GOD! INU-YASHA!" The girl screamed again and notified her friend by smacking her in the arm. "INU-YASHA, I LOVE YOU! I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!"

Kagome winced as her friend joined her screaming.

"INU-YASHA! I'M THE LEADER OF YOUR FAN CLUB! MARRY ME!"

Kagome winced as the two girls yelled even more. She turned towards Inu-Yasha. "You do realize that those girls in that car beside us are screaming for you?"

Inu-Yasha smirked and glanced at them, emitting even more screams from the pair. "Ah, well, I've gotten used to it." He tapped the wheel in impatience as the screams got louder. "Anyway, I can't be flirting with any girl now can I? I have a girlfriend." He grinned and leaned over, kissing Kagome lightly on the cheek.

She hid the blush, "Inu-Yasha, I'm not your girlfriend."

"To all my fans, press, and paparazzi – you still are." He smirked as Kagome turned away from him and opted to stare at the street light. As the red light blinked off and the green light turned on, Kagome looked to the left as Inu-Yasha began to accelerate. She could finally relax on the yacht.

However, Kagome raised her eyebrows in surprise as Inu-Yasha swerved to the right. Startled, she gasped as he drove further away from the docks, the screams of the girls grew faint.

"INU-YASHA! What're you doing? Turn around!"

He grinned devilishly. "Nah."

Ayame leaned forward from her seat and tapped Inu-Yasha on the head. "Inu-Yasha, you're going the wrong way!"

Inu-Yasha laughed. "No, I'm not."

Kagome breathed out slowly, _'calm down Kagome… just calm down…' _"Inu-Yasha, you're going the wrong way. Turn around _now._"

He looked at her innocently. "But I don't want to go to that crummy Island."

"WHAT?" The three girls lashed out simultaneously.

Miroku strained his forehead; something about this road seemed familiar. Then it hit, "Oh, I know where we're going."

Kagome looked back and forth at Miroku and Inu-Yasha. "Stop the car right now, Inu-Yasha. My parents and your parents are waiting for us on the yacht. If they depart and they find out that we're not on board, we'll be grounded for the rest of our _lives." _

"I don't think we'll be grounded for _that _long. I'll just tell them that my car broke down in the middle of the road, and even if we hurried to the docks – you'd have departed anyway." Inu-Yasha made another right and increased the speed of his car.

Kagome gulped. "No! Karira was so happy planning the whole trip for us!"

"She won't care if we're there or not. I bet you she just wanted to go to the island to find herself a boyfriend."

"INU-YASHA!"

"I'm not turning around."

"Where the hell are you taking us anyway?"

He looked back at Miroku who seemed to be enjoying the idea, knowing fully what Inu-Yasha was thinking. "Miroku seems to know."

Sango snapped her heads towards Miroku, worried beyond relief. She was stuck in a car with the two men she trusted the least and they were taking them to an unknown place. "Start talking, Miroku."

He shifted uneasily in his seat. "Well, if I'm correct, Inu-Yasha's driving up to the Royal Casino Hotel."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at Inu-Yasha. "Turn the car around; we still have time to catch the yacht!"

"Why the hell would you want to go to the Island? So you can have your mommy and daddy supervise you twenty four seven?" Inu-Yasha didn't let her talk and continued on. "Or maybe so Souta can bug you wherever you go." He cut her off again. "Or _maybe, _you're such a mommy's girl that you can't stand disobeying her, just once."

Kagome searched for words. "W-well –."

Inu-Yasha smirked as Kagome slowly gave in and took advantage of the situation. "I mean, on the Island, you'll have to live these small huts where bugs and mosquitoes bother you at night. Believe me, I went there a few years ago and it was hell."

Ayame saw the light in the situation. "Come on you guys, I've read about the hotel. There are awesome spa treatments, humungous pools, one of the finest restaurants _ever_. I heard the room service is brilliant. Did you know, you get to _choose _what sort of beds you like? If you want Egyptian sheets, they give you Egyptian sheets, if you want a hundred percent silk blankets; they _give _you a hundred percent silk blankets."

Sango looked uncertainly at Kagome who looked back with a frown. "I – I guess it wouldn't hurt."

Inu-Yasha grinned and waited for Kagome's approval. One more push wouldn't hurt. "I mean, Kagome – _no _parents. Just us five. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Oh, _fine! _Go ahead and drive to the hotel, but if your parents or mine start asking questions, I'm giving _all _responsibility to you!" Kagome folded her arms across her chest and fell back on her seat. "I can't believe I just gave in to peer pressure…"

Inu-Yasha drove faster as an agreement was settled among the teenagers; the hotel wasn't that far away from where he was.

Kagome sat back quietly and let Inu-Yasha drive. Was it just her or was he growing on her? Secretly, she shifted her eyes to glimpse at him. With much reluctance, resistance and fight – she _had _to admit that he looked pretty hot in his red T-shirt and denim jeans. Letting the fashion statement pass by, she studied his complexion. His skin was nicely tanned and his body was well built. Ah, so now she understood what his crazed female fans saw in him.

She blinked when his golden eyes came across hers. Looking away instantly, she cussed at her stupidity. Great. He just caught me ogling him. Another reason to boost his ego.

From behind, Miroku called out as the hotel came in sight. As soon as she saw it, Kagome took in a sharp breath. The hotel was guarded with protective gates, but behind them loomed an immensely tall building. It looked as if the entire building was made of glass and as Inu-Yasha nodded to the gatekeepers, the dark gates opened and Inu-Yasha drove in, giving a better sight of the casino hotel. A large fountain stood in the middle of the walkway and Inu-Yasha drove around it, heading for the chaperone that was waiting for them on the side.

Looking around as Inu-Yasha slowed down the car, Kagome forgot all about the yacht as the scenery captivated her. The place was quiet, and it was actually quite relaxing. The soothing sound of the fountain carried around the driveway and Kagome was ecstatic as the trees around her gave it a forestry look.

"Alright, so we're here." Inu-Yasha announced, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Kagome undid her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, still gazing around. If the exterior looked this exquisite, she couldn't _wait _to see the interior of the place. Sango jerked her out of her muse by throwing her backpack at her, laughing as Kagome shout out. "Hey!"

"Miss, would you like me to take care of your bag?"

Kagome blinked in surprise as a man in red clothing reached out an arm for her. "Um… no, I'm fine. Thanks anyway."

He smiled softly and took Inu-Yasha's keys instead, deciding to deal with the car. As he drove away with the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, Kagome padded towards Inu-Yasha. "So, can we go inside?" She asked girlishly, suddenly excited about spending two days here instead of the island.

Inu-Yasha grinned and put an arm around her waist. "I suppose we can." Walking up to the tinted doors, he pushed them open and led the group inside, immediately receiving approving remarks.

The floors were done with black tiles that had been cleaned to the extent, which reflected the large waterfall on the right. The walls were appropriately designed. Exquisite paintings from anonymous painters had been hung around to set the mood and Ayame had to hold in her excitement as she spotted well known celebrities. A humungous chandelier hung from the ceiling and immediately, she knew that at night the place must sparkle. Star struck, she had to remind herself she was still in public and quickly caught up with the group that was already at reception.

As she neared Sango, she raised an eyebrow as she heard bickering from Inu-Yasha and Kagome. "What're they fighting about _now?" _

Sango scoffed. "Apparently, Inu-Yasha's only wants to rent _one_ suitebut Kagome won't give in to the idea. Actually, I wouldn't want to either, god knows what'll happen if we have to spend a night with Miroku."

Up front, Kagome growled with frustration as Inu-Yasha went on with their accommodation needs.

"We need only four bedrooms -."

"But we're five people!"

"Four bedrooms it is, uh… it doesn't matter about the bedding, anything soft… a plasma TV sounds nice…" Inu-Yasha ignored Kagome as she tried to butt in. "Of course we need a Jacuzzi in the bathroom. We also need access to spas, swimming pools, the sauna, and any activities in the next two days… oh and we'll need room service for breakfast, lunch _and _dinner."

The receptionist furiously typed it all down in the computer. "Yes, sir. How long will you be staying?"

"Two nights."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Two nights? Two days!"

"Ignore her. It'll be two nights."

"Inu-Yasha! I'm not going to go home a whole day late."

"Oh, let loose, Kagome."

The receptionist smiled at the two. "You two are such a sweet couple."

Kagome glanced at the receptionist, forgetting for a moment what she was talking about. "Huh?"

Inu-Yasha took this as an advantage. "So make it two nights."

The receptionist nodded and typed it in on the computer screen. "Would you like any carpeting?"

"Sure."

"A view of the pool and scenery?"

"Fine."

"What kind of refreshments would you like in your fridge?"

Kagome answered this one before Inu-Yasha could. "Nothing with alcohol."

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes at her remark. Boy, could she be persistent.

"Would you like aroma therapeutic candles to be lit up around your room at night?"

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, his patience growing thin. "We're not here for a honeymoon, lady -."

Kagome nudged Inu-Yasha in the arm. "Be _nice_. She obviously adores you so don't go crushing her dreams."

The half-demon bit his tongue. Kagome wanted him to be _nice? _Psh, fine – he could do that. "Alright then, include _everything_."

The receptionist stopped dead in her tracks. "Pardon me?"

"You heard me, include everything you see on the list to our two night stay." He put his hands on the counter. "So you got it?"

The receptionist flashed him a smile. "Of course. That'd be two hundred, seventy four thousand dollars and sixty nine cents, please. Will you be paying by debit?"

Inu-Yasha nodded and ignored the gasps from Ayame and Sango from behind. Slipping the card to the receptionist, he turned around and grinned at Miroku, who was beyond ecstatic. Pulling Inu-Yasha to the side, he patted him on the shoulder.

"MAN, that was SWEET. Can you imagine? We are going to have the time of our _lives _here!" Miroku looked at Sango who was shaking Kagome by the shoulders. "_One _suite man… how cool is that."

"What exactly do you think I bought when I said to include _everything?" _Inu-Yasha asked, glancing at Kagome as she picked up Inu-Yasha's debit card.

"Who cares? If it's something we don't like, we'll just send it back." Miroku shrugged and then nudged towards the girls. "Okay, let's go back and have someone escort us to our room!"

As they came back, Kagome gave Inu-Yasha's card back, glaring at him. "You spent so much money for just two nights. Are you insane?"

"It's not much; I still have billions in the bank." Inu-Yasha took his keys from the receptionist and headed towards the elegantly designed elevator. "A good looking guy like me deserves the top quality necessities."

Kagome sighed and stepped into the elevator, coming face to a humungous mirror. "It's just like the time when you spent thousands on getting every single Elmo toy when you were six."

Miroku stared at Inu-Yasha who jerked out of his laziness at once. "_You _liked Elmo?"

He glared at Kagome for revealing the personal information. "I was nine."

Ayame giggled. "Oh, I can imagine. _'Elmo, I have a problem. I can't find my socks. Will you help me? Oh and let's sing a song while we're at it!'_" She cocked her head and stared at him. "That's so unbelievable." 

Inu-Yasha growled and pressed the tenth floor for the sixth time. "I was _six." _

"Did you like the cookie monster as well?" Sango laughed as she saw a pink tint on his cheeks. "Because wasn't Elmo good friends with the cookie monster?"

Kagome raised a hand to stop Sango. "No, no, Sango – Elmo's good friend was Big Bird. Die hard fans _must _remember that."

Inu-Yasha snapped around and stepped up to Kagome. "Well, _you _liked The Wiggles. You kept asking everybody where the hell _Jeff _was. Do you _know _how stupid that was?"

She scoffed at him. "At least I didn't lash out at people when I missed an episode of Captain Planet. I can't _believe _you fancied that _hideous _cartoon character. He had _green _hair!"

He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Well, miss hypocrite. If I recall correctly, _you _were the one who had this humungous crush on him!"

Kagome thought for a second. "Oh yeah…" realizing she was losing the battle, she grinned back up at him. "You were obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!"

"Once again, you were obsessed with Sailor Moon… and insanely in love with that… Tuxedo Mask guy!"

"Well it's not every day when you see a sweet, nice, heroic guy who wears an incredibly fitting tux and goes out to save people!" Kagome redeemed herself, neither of them paying attention to the snickering friends. "I believe, however, you used to sing along to the theme song of –." Kagome screamed as Inu-Yasha pressed his hand across her mouth.

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Boof Mules!" Kagome screamed out gibberish as she tried to pronounce the name correctly. "Mloo Kuls!"

The elevator 'dinged' as they reached the desired floor. Letting go of Kagome, Inu-Yasha looked at her once before turning around and stomping to the floor, obviously freaked that his all time childhood secret had almost gotten out. On the other hand, Kagome burst up laughing.

Sango stared at Inu-Yasha disappearing figure. "KAGOME! Don't you feel bad?"

Kagome giggled. "A _little. _But you really should've seen how much he fret over it. Just my luck though, the oh so horrid thing happened the first day I stepped foot in his villa. I _tried _comforting him but… he was too upset."

Miroku narrowed his eyes as he remembered something.

x.x

_"You have no idea why you both hate each other? Psh, come on!"_

_Inu-Yasha groaned. "Fine, I'll tell... it's just that, on the day Kagome arrived at my villa... something happened, and well, I don't trust you enough to tell, but it happened, and I was mad... and when I saw Kagome arrive, she was so happy, without a care in the world that I got jealous, why should she be happy when I was so miserable? So that day, I tried to get her all sad, so I didn't have to see that completely blissful face of hers, and then after that... _

x.x

Miroku put two and two together and held the elevator door open so they could continue their discussion. "So the first day of your arrival, Inu-Yasha was rude to you because something happened to his favorite TV show?" 

Kagome nodded. "I _tried _to cheer him up but he was too stubborn. He didn't come out of his room for days. Gosh, he was gullible as a kid." She let her friends laugh for a while but then shrugged. "Let's just go in the suite."

They finally left the elevator and searched for their numbered room. As it was unlocked already, Miroku pushed open the door and stepped in, immediately amazed by his surroundings.

Sango stopped dead in her tracks beside her friends who were just as amazed. "This is a _room? _It's big enough to be a _house._"

The floor was beautifully done with blue tiles that were mopped until they sparkled. Walk in closets were on either side of them and as they walked further, steps led them to a gorgeous white carpeted floor. Directly in front of them was a humungous plasma TV, which had large stereos on both the left and right side of it. Custom made paintings of exquisite scenery were hanged on the walls to set the theme and there were four doors – two on each side. Lazy boy furniture gifted the room with its presence and as soon as the girls processed the room in their minds, Sango and Ayame squealed, threw off their shoes and ran into the living room.

Kagome, however, looked around to spot where Inu-Yasha had disappeared off to. Slipping off her sandals, she put down her bag and went to one of the doors. She knocked on it once. "Inu-Yasha, are you in there?"

No reply.

Frowning, Kagome turned around but stopped when she heard something break from inside. She rolled her eyes and turned around, turning the diamond knob to enter the room. She blinked as she saw a beautiful, big bedroom. It was nicely designed, the main color being baby blue. A humungous painting of the sea was placed above the king sized bed and curtains of a window, the size of the room, were drawn back to give a view of the pool.

And coming out from the walk in closet, Inu-Yasha threw broken glass into the bin. "I didn't see that there." With that, he turned around and went back into the closet, obviously hanging his clothes in it.

"Inu-Yasha, are you mad at me?" Tip toeing to the closet, she peeked inside to see Inu-Yasha pouting as he hung his clothes on his hangers.

Kagome winced as guilt poured in. Sure, he could be a jackass sometimes and he could _definitely _be rude as hell… but when he sent_ her _the cold shoulder – she couldn't help but go on a guilt trip. Sighing, she walked up to him. She tapped his shoulder. "I wasn't trying to be _mean._"

Inu-Yasha tried to hide a laugh, failing as it came out in a contorted cough. She called _him _gullible as child. She was damn well gullible now.

Kagome frowned as Inu-Yasha ignored her. "Oh, come on. It was _just _a show." Seeing that he wasn't going to give in, the girl took a deep breath. She hadn't done this before…

Gulping, she stepped closer and hugged him. "Jeez, I'm sorry."

Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrows, surprised but well entertained. Returning the hug by holding the petit frame of her back, he couldn't help but crack up. "You fell for it."

Pulling back, she looked up at him, confused. "What?"

"You fell for it. I made you apologize to me! Ha, the almighty Inu-Yasha wins, yet again."

Kagome gasped and stepped back. "How dare you!"

Inu-Yasha gave a lopsided grin. "You thought I'd still be upset over some stupid show I haven't thought about for over ten years?"

Kagome shrugged. "Well, you were upset about it. I mean, finding out that the original host of blue's clues quit because of some drug problems must have been hard on a four year old."

"I still can't believe I locked myself up for two bloody days…" Inu-Yasha shook his head at the memory. "At least I got to make you cry."

Kagome blinked, the comment hitting her like ice. "All my pity for you has disappeared into thin air." With that, she turned around and left.

Inu-Yasha laughed as she slammed the door shut. He shook his head as memories of their childhood returned. Boy, was she a feisty kid. He was leaving the room when he remembered something.

Had she hugged him back in the closet?

She had hugged him by her own free will?

He cursed as he realized he felt a crush coming on towards Kagome. He couldn't crush on _her. _The girl who he's known since he was four… there was some unwritten law about crushing on girls you've known since you were little. Wasn't it forbidden to crush on the girl who knew your every single secret? There _had _to be one…

He couldn't go on crushing on Kagome. He probably had _no _chance with her anyway. There was no way she could like him back.

Right?

Inu-Yasha sat down on the bed, burying his hands in his hair. If some physic had told him one month ago that he would be thinking this now, he would've fired them and sued them for false accusations if he could.

But Kagome _had _kissed him back last night.

Flopping back on the bed, he sighed. This was what confused him. Why the hell did he always end up kissing her someway or another?

He suddenly sat up. He shouldn't be lounging around on a hot summer's day while they were on a short _vacation. _Standing, he ran out his room to meet the others. It was only eight thirty in the morning and the day was planned so they could have fun, not lye down.

He could think about Kagome later. After all, she wasleaving in a month, right?

_x.x_

**Phew! Fifteen pages! So review and tell me what you thought about it! Your reviews motivate me to type faster! I have a whole lot planned for the next chapter… I mean, Inu-Yasha and Kagome _have _to talk about what happened in the kitchen right? It'll be fun writing it! So look for it in the next week or so! **


	23. Brochures, Lava Cakes and The Pool House

**Here you go… the long awaited for chapter. I'd just like to address the reviews that had been flying in. I will not respond to people cursing at me, or forcing me to update. You're frustration is understandable, however, if I am _forced _to write, I'll end up quitting fan fiction so for your sake and mine, stop pestering me with threats.**

**I'll sum up how my first month of back-to-school went: -- fell in love with cute boy in student council/ found out he has girlfriend / went in denial / big assignment dumped on me during language arts during second week / had only six hours of sleep a night for the past two weeks (finally getting back on track with sleeping schedule) / coffee / cute boy that I'm over with starts talking to me a whole lot / cute boy starts _avoiding _his girlfriend/ me and cute boy's girlfriend have an awkward conversation / caught a cold during football practice / have an annoying asshole sitting in front of me in math class / doodled on paper a whole lot yet still managed to get A's / I catch cute boy's eye a whole ton of times in French class / realizes I have to update Being Backstage.**

**And here I am. **

**Now that that's over and done with, I'd like to point out that reviews have been answered to at the bottom of the chapter. **

………………

**Chapter Twenty Three**

****

**Brochures, Lava Cakes, and The Pool House **

………………

Kagome pulled a robe over her bikini. They were going swimming, early in the morning and had planned to spend the rest of the day just relaxing. It was already nine thirty and they hadn't left their hotel suite. She looked over to Ayame who was applying lip gloss. "Give me some of that."

Ayame smiled as she passed over the lip gloss to Kagome. "How about we leave before the others? Inu-Yasha's still swooning over himself by looking at the mirror and Sango and Miroku are going to take a while before their argument finishes."

Kagome fastened the lid on the lip gloss as she finished reapplying it. After Sango had slipped into her baby blue bikini, Miroku had fished out a perverted comment and now, he was trying to persuade Sango to forgive him. "Yeah, I guess so." Picking up her bag with a towel and a few clothes stuff in it, Ayame and Kagome led themselves out of the suite and towards the elevator.

They hadn't received a phone call from either Inu-Yasha's parents or Kagome's parents, meaning that the group of seven which were headed to the Island were still oblivious to their disappearance. They had a tight schedule due to the fact there were so many activities available and so less time. So far, it had been decided they would go swimming to refresh themselves and then do whatever they felt in the mood of next.

"So… did you talk to Inu-Yasha?" Ayame perked out in a quiet voice. The elevator door dinged open and both of them stepped in. A silence invaded the small space and when Kagome didn't reply, Ayame continued. "I mean, about, you know…"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "No… I don't know."

"About last night!" Ayame spat out in frustration. "You both aren't seriously just going to go along pretending it didn't happen, are you?"

"No! I talked to him about it, and he just said… that… he didn't really want to talk about it." She gestured with her hand in a fashion as if it was the perfect answer. "And neither do I, so we're both fine." She pressed the seventh floor where Inu-Yasha had booked a private pool and crossed her arms. "Listen, I'm leaving in nine days so it doesn't matter. After that, we'll both move on and forget about it."

Ayame stared at her best friend. "Does Inu-Yasha _know _that you're leaving in nine days?"

"No…"

"Are you going to _tell _him?"

"It won't matter."

Ayame sighed. "Kagome, sometimes I feel like I know you better than you know yourself. Do you _really _think that two years later, you'll have completely forgotten about the past month? If it took you two years to forgive Inu-Yasha about how he insulted you, what in the world makes you believe that you'll forget about _kissing _him?"

Kagome tapped her foot impatiently. Was it just her or was the elevator proceeding down _extra _slowly? Ayame _was _right. She knew if she didn't talk about last night with Inu-Yasha, it would bug her for the rest of her life. What could've been and what might've happened. "Well…" she gulped. "What do you want me to do?"

"Maybe take him aside and tell him that you're in love with him!"

"Maybe." Only then did Kagome realize what Ayame had just said. "W-wait a minute. What the hell? God, no! Oh my _gosh _Ayame. What in the devil possessed you to say that?" Blushing pink, Kagome thanked the lord as the elevator door slid open and she rushed out. "Ayame! D-don't ever say anything like that again!"

Ayame, who was right behind her, was laughing hysterically. "Oh my god! You _considered _it!"

"I did **_not!_"** Kagome ignored the pool recipient and opened the door to their private pool. "I wasn't listening so I just… well, I just blabbered on."

"Well if you 'just blabbered on' - - why the hell are you blushing?" Giggling, Ayame looked around the indoor pool. It was bigger than her apartment put together. A crystal clear pool was place right in front of her. Blue porcelain tiles to create a sea blue glow were pleasantly being walked upon and a stunning view of the resort could be seen from the wall sized window.

"I'm not blushing; I'm just… surprised you'd say something like that. I mean, seriously, you're not taking what I said into consideration are you?" Kagome stopped and slid her robe off to glare worriedly at Ayame.

"Well, I wasn't but wow, Kagome – you're seriously overreacting so I think I just might."

"No! I'm not overreacting. Like I said before, I wasn't expecting for you to say something like that and -."

"Say something like what?" Inu-Yasha's voice interrupted her sentence and both Ayame and Kagome looked at him in shock.

"Oh… I didn't hear you come in." Kagome managed to say even though her mind was reeling to find a legible excuse for him to _not _find out what they were discussing.

"I followed you guys out but I had to go back and call the others so it took me longer." As if on cue, Sango and Miroku walked inside, both of them talking to each other as if the fight they had this morning never happened. "Anyway, what's with the red face?"

It took a while for Kagome to realize Inu-Yasha was in fact talking to her. "Oh? Um, Ayame and I were just having a heated argument."

"On what?"

"We were talking about you." Ayame blurted out, receiving a shocked glare from Kagome.

Inu-Yasha was taking his shirt off when he stopped. Slowly pulling it off, he looked back and forth suspiciously between Ayame and Kagome. "About me?"

"_Ayame!" _Kagome mouthed to her 'supposedly' best friend. "What are you doing?"

Ayame ignored her, having too much fun with the situation. "Yeah."

"Oh, forget it!" Anger infatuating her at once, she turned around and dipped her feet into the pool. She didn't need to destroy her small vacation by getting involved with another fight. Sighing as Sango swam up to her, she groaned to herself as Sango tugged her arm.

"Is Ayame serious?"

Unfortunately, what was meant to be a whisper resulted in an echo. Damn the stupid walls.

Ayame giggled and sent an apologetic smile towards Kagome. She did know that she was just kidding around, right?

"So is either one going to tell me what it was you were talking about?" Inu-Yasha asked from the edge of the pool where he was planning to jump in.

"It's for us to know and for you to find out." With a playful wink, Ayame dived in the pool before Inu-Yasha did and re-surfaced fully wet. However, she was pulled down again by Kagome. Freeing from her grasp, she popped the surface and coughed. "Kagome!"

"You idiot! I'm never talking to you again." Squinting as Inu-Yasha's splash drenched her, she let go of Ayame's arm and was about to swim to Sango when Ayame pulled her back.

"Don't you understand what I just did?" Seeing Kagome's clueless face, she smiled. "It's going to keep him on his toes!" She made sure her voice was on a seriously low tone before continuing. "He's going to be after you for the rest of the day and you'll like that right?"

Kagome gaped at her. "Stop jumping to conclusions! I still find him an annoying asshole!"

"A very cute annoying asshole." Before Kagome could respond to her remark, she dipped under water and swam away, leaving Kagome to herself.

Shaking her head, Kagome walked towards Sango in the shallow side of the pool. It only reaching her mid waist, she could keep a good eye to make sure no one was going to pull her down underneath. "Hey, where'd Miroku disappear?"

"He went to make a complaint."

"A complaint?"

"He said there should've been someone already in here to ask what drinks they would've liked. There wasn't so he's complaining." Sango stared off into thin air. "I'd like to make a complaint like that one day."

"You would?" Kagome asked, a little taken aback by Sango's randomness.

"Just to know how so much authority feels. It's probably – oh, Inu-Yasha's coming."

Kagome turned back to see Inu-Yasha wade up to them. "Are you, by chance -."

"We're not talking about you." Kagome said icily and turned her back on him. However, in a matter of seconds, he was by her side.

"What's with you? You were all cheery when you left."

"You sour my mood."

"I couldn't have when you hugged me back in my room."

"I felt sympathetic."

"What the hell happened to when you were _excited _about this resort?"

"I bring you drinks!"

The bitter argument was interrupted as Miroku walked in with a waiter walking behind him. As soon as he said that, Ayame popped up beside them and squealed. "Finally! I was beginning to wonder if you forgot!"

"I can see that Ayame's getting used to the treatment here." Sango muttered jokingly to Kagome and reached out for a drink.

Not thirsty, Kagome glided towards the deep end, wondering if the water used to fill up this pool was any more expensive than the one back home. For all she knew, it probably was. Re-surfacing, Kagome called out to her companions from the other side of the pool. "You guys want to play tag?"

_x.x_

Kagome walked into the Sauna room an hour and thirty minutes later. The tag game turned out to be more than she had expected it to be, and had included a ton of grabbing, pulling and pulling under, removal of certain clothing (all to be blamed on Miroku) which had resulted in slapping, charging and hysterics, there had been pushing under therefore measured to desperate gasps of needed breath, screaming, yelling, shrieking, splashing, jumping _on _to, clinging, and a whole lot of chlorine intake.

The game had been interrupted however, as a hotel keeper brought a phone addressed to Inu-Yasha.

It was Mona.

Apparently, Inu-Yasha had settled a deal with her last night and was supposed to take her to a Gucci Runway show _today. _

Happily enjoying herself, Kagome snickered in the back as Inu-Yasha tried to convince Mona he _hadn't _said he would take her to the runway show today. He hung up on her a few seconds later, obviously pissed off.

That led her to where she was now: in the Sauna, enjoying herself as she felt her skin prick with heat. "Sango?"

Sango looked back from the small, squared glass window. "What?"

"Will you stop staring out of the window? It's annoying."

"Kagome, I swear someone has been stalking us. I mean, for god's sake, our robes couldn't possibly have folded themselves up and stacked themselves on top of each other by themselves!" Sango took a deep breath. "I'll catch whoever's following us."

Ayame looked over to Kagome hopelessly. "I think she's watched too many episodes of CSI." She jumped slightly as Sango screeched. "Holy crap, Sango -."

"I saw a woman! It might've been for a second, but her hand shot out from behind the door and took the crumpled tissue I threw on the floor!" Sango pushed open the Sauna door slightly and peeked out. "That _proves _someone is following us."

"Why would someone follow us?" Kagome paused to reprove herself. "Well, fine – someone might know we're related to Inu-Yasha in a way but we're staying at a top security hotel so don't you think the security guards might've caught some suspicious strangers?"

Ayame looked between the two. "Or maybe the hotel people sent their workers to clean up the mess we make after everything we do?"

"That's a little extreme." Kagome drawled out leaned back on the wall. "But it's possible."

After Sango had made sure that no one was lurking outside their reserved Sauna, she cautiously made her way back to her bench and sat down to relax.

Silence stretched into the small bathhouse and Kagome watched as the heated rocks emitted a wave of heat. After the insane morning, she finally got the much needed peace and quiet. It didn't matter she was in room temperature of 90 degrees Celsius, she would be fine just as long as she had time to _think_.

It seemed to her like for the past two days, he was the _only _thing on her mind. If some of the questions she had went unanswered, she would drive herself _mad. _The one that was plaguing her mind was 'Why the hell had he kissed her last night?' It was the second time this summer he had kissed her and each time he did, she forgot all her restraints and kissed him back.

The guilty voice perched upon her left shoulder kept repeating one sole thing, 'It's not like you _mind._'

And what was worse was that it was true. If Inu-Yasha had laid even one finger on her a year and a half ago, she would've beaten him to a pulp. Yet, now, it was _different. _She didn't feel animosity towards him. It was something _much _different. Maybe… she… _had _fallen for Inu-Yasha.

Kagome stood up from her wooden seat and looked around frantically. "I've been thinking too much." She blurted to Sango and Ayame. "I – um." She gulped. By the knowing faces on her two friend's faces, she wondered if, somehow, her thoughts had been voiced out loud. "Let's do something else."

Sango raised an eyebrow. "But we planned to meet up with Miroku and Inu-Yasha at eleven fifteen and it's only five minutes past el-."

"That's okay! We should get away from them!" Kagome walked backwards towards the Sauna door. "Somewhere… noisy." She looked at Ayame for a second. "Where's the hotel brochure? There has to be something fun and time consuming to do, right?"

"Well, yes – but what's with the sudden inspiration to do something?" Sango stood up reluctantly and looked back at Ayame as if she had an answer to Kagome's sudden outburst.

Sighing, Kagome raised a hand to her forehead. "I -." She stopped and brought a hand to her cheeks and felt they were burning. If they were burning from the fact she was embarrassed through and through or because of the heat, she didn't know and was _glad _her friends couldn't see it either. "You guys…" she trailed off, not knowing how to put it in words.

Ayame perked up from her slouched position. "Should we be worried?"

"Oh, no! Not at all. Well, maybe a little because I think I'm losing my sanity but um, it's nothing big. Well, it's big but um, not, um, that sort of big, you know what I mean?"

"Kagome, sit down." Sango preached her hands and pulled Kagome to sit between her and Ayame. As soon as Kagome as stopped fidgeting, Sango put a hand on her arm. "Okay, now tell us what's bugging you."

Kagome sighed again. "Um," she felt her shoulders slump in distress. "I don't know… it's just that, I think that," she glanced at her friends for a second "ugh, it's like -."

"Kagome, you're rambling." Ayame pointed out and put her hand on Kagome's other arm. "Take all the time you want." After a pause, she re-stated what she said. "Well, don't take too long because it's getting really hot in here."

Nodding, Kagome took a deep breath. "It's just that Inu-Yasha's been on my mind lately and I don't know why. I mean, when he was Mona last night, I was jealous and then when we danced, I was happy and then when he said he was sorry about everything, I was _so _relieved but I didn't know what to say. So I walked away and I _hoped _he would follow me and he _did. _And I don't know why I wanted him to follow me because before then, I've never wanted him to follow me _anywhere, _you know?"

Despite their current state of being completely clueless of what she was talking about, Sango and Ayame nodded and listened to Kagome ramble on. "And then before that, he gave me that bracelet, remember? I was so overwhelmed and so I just took it… and then before that, when he asked me to go to that party with him and I said yes… all I thought after that was, 'oh my god, I cant believe I'm going on a date with Inu-Yasha' but it wasn't like I was _dreading _it."

Sango widened her eyes in realization. "Are… you saying -."

Kagome eyes welled up with tears. "And then today, for some reason I hugged him and I don't know why I hugged him because I've never hugged him before but I just felt like _iiiiit_." She wailed the last part of her sentence out and then burst into tears. "Yooou guuuys. I've faaallen for Inu-Yashaaaaa."

Ayame put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Well, why are you _crying?_"

"Because I feel so heeeeellpless!" Kagome sobbed and brought her two hands to her eyes. "I mean, after thinking for _hours. _If I _hadn't _fallen for him, I wouldn't have kissed him back last night but I did kiss him back so it means I _do _have feelings for him!"

"Well... it was about time you figured it out." Sango said before dabbing at her wet cheeks. "It's not the end of the world, Kagome."

"But what do I _dooooo_?" Kagome burst into another flood of tears. "He probably _still _thinks I'm annoying and… and -." She failed to continue as both Ayame and Sango hushed her to be quiet.

"This is what we'll do. Ayame and I are going to think up a plan to find out what Inu-Yasha thinks of the situation, okay? But for the next two hours, we're going to have _fun. _So dry up those tears and let's get out of this Sauna. It's getting too hot anyway."

As if someone had been listening to their conversation and waiting for their cue, the Sauna door clicked open and a gust of fresh air blew in.

_x.x_

"Pure stalker material." Sango muttered as they walked down the corridor, fully dressed. "See, that proves that the hotel workers are following us."

"If they are, it's just because they want us to have a quality stay." Ayame pointed out timidly as Sango looked around the corner to make sure no one was there.

"By tagging our every step? Didn't you two see that our clothes were neatly hanged on the hooks out in the change rooms when we came out of the Sauna? We didn't hang them on the hooks. That means _someone _which we don't know – hanged them on the hooks."

"They probably did it when Kagome was confessing. We all were too busy to peek out of the small glass window." Ayame glanced over at Kagome who was currently scanning a hotel brochure.

"I'll catch them in action." Sango settled upon her decision and then, finally, turned towards Kagome. "So where are we going?"

Kagome looked up from the brochure, "Well, if we walk up the hills behind this hotel, they've got a world famous psychic fair going on and I thought it'd be fun if we go."

Ayame took the brochure from Kagome. "What's a psychic fair?"

"It's like a carnival, but instead of rides and games and noise – it's quiet and we have so called psychics pretending they know our future, magicians playing stupid tricks and there's free diet coke and low in fat crackers." Kagome pointed to the small pictures, awaiting her friends' approval.

Ayame grinned. "I'll go for the free food."

"Even though it's a bunch of bull, I'll go for the heck of it."

Kagome giggled. "This'll be interesting."

Exiting the lobby, Kagome had to squint at the sudden burst of light. Quickly tying her hair in a low ponytail, she groaned as she realized how hot it was outside. They turned a sharp turn to go around the hotel and at once saw the hills the brochure was talking about. A long cobblestone pathway led to and up the hill and a shade of dark green gave off the impression that the fair was being held in a small gathering of trees. The walk itself was long, and to walk there under the summer heat was _tiring. _

As they finally reached the foot of the hill, Kagome looked up at the slanted pathway. "Hey, Sango – are you sure it was okay to ditch Miroku and Inu-Yasha? I mean, Inu-Yasha _did _pay for all of this…"

"Of _course _it's okay. Unless we come up with a plan, you can't be around Inu-Yasha because what if something else happens? Anyway, I called them when you two weren't looking and told them that we'll meet up with them for Lunch at twelve thirty. And by then, Ayame and I are sure that we'll have a plan thought up by then." With that, Sango pulled Kagome's hand and walked up the rest of the hill.

As they walked up to the entrance, Kagome gasped as she saw what they had done with the small gathering. Bells and lamps hung from the trees. Tents (with what seemed to be pure satin cloth) were set up and a professional medieval band was playing in the corner. Sure enough, a table lined with drinks and crackers had been set up on their left and a small crowd was wandering back and forth between the tents.

"Let's go get our fortunes told." Kagome squealed out and pointed to the golden plaque which had 'Fortune Teller' engraved onto it. Even though she _knew _it was all fake, it was always fun being told some bogus lie about how she was going to marry prince charming and become a multi-millionaire. "They said in the brochure that these fortune tellers are highly paid – oof!" All of a sudden, she was thrown on the ground and the brochure in her hand went flying in the air.

"Oh – my – god. I am SO sorry."

Kagome blinked away the dust and looked up from the ground. A blonde, thin and tall (probably a model) was standing above her, looking down apologetically. "Oh – it's okay." Pushing herself up, she brushed the dirt off her clothes and stood up. Compared to the Hollywood Model standing in front of her, she felt short.

"Oh gosh." The blonde mistress put a hand to her chest. "You look like that girl who Inu-Yasha's been dating."

Taken aback, Kagome looked towards Sango and Ayame who walked towards her. "Yeah, that's me." She said timidly as the bombshell stared down at her. She was a good three inches taller and her blue eyes were scanning her as if _searching _for faults. "So, I'm Kagome."

"Oh, sorry – it was rude of me to stare. Yeah, I've heard a lot about you on the news. By the way, my name's Kitty. My real names Kathy, but people call me Kitty. I was running away from my friend Bum. She heard this _crazy _rumor that I was sleeping with her guy but it is so not true but she believes whatever she hears so I'm running from her because she can be a little hyper!" She laughed and then grabbed Kagome's hand. "It was so nice in finally meeting you. Maybe when Bum and I resolve the situation, we all could hang out together, you know?"

Kagome blinked at her. In a matter of few seconds, how had she managed to settle a 'get-together' with her? "Sure… _Bum _and you can hang out with us any time you -."

"Gosh, that is so great. Alright, well, I think I can see her coming round the corner so I'm heading off, be sure to send Inu-Yasha my kisses. Bye!" After pulling Kagome into an embrace and smooching both her cheeks, Kitty waved a small goodbye to Sango and Ayame and ran down the pathway.

Sango stared after the disappearing figure, and stepped back a few feet as another blonde beauty came running after Kitty, her left heel in her hand.

"That has got to be the most _interesting _thing I'm going to see today." Sango whispered to Ayame and Kagome at the disappearing figure.

"I suddenly feel so short." Breathing out slowly, Kagome looked down at the black tank top and white Capri's she had worn. "Do I look in any way inadequate to those two girls?"

Ayame reached over and pulled off her pony tail. "There, you look more like a celebrity that way."

Smiling, she turned around to walk towards the tent when someone yelled out to her from the other side of the clearing. "Heeeeeey! It's Kagome!"

Widening her eyes, she turned around and gaped as Kouga came running up to her. "Oh my god – I'm meeting a ton of people today, aren't I?" She whimpered as Kouga ran up to her. He nodded to Ayame who immediately straightened her posture at the sight of him.

Before he could say anything, Sango spoke up. "Ayame and I are going to go check out some of the stalls here."

"We are?" Ayame questioned stupidly, earning a hard nudge from Sango.

"The stuff they're selling is pretty cheap. The necklaces are only around seventy thousand dollars. Amazing prices, eh?" He grinned at the girls who foolishly grinned back.

"Yeah, so we'll go and have a look around while you two talk. Bye!"

Kagome stared desperately as Sango pulled Ayame away. How could they ditch her? Trying to hide her discomfort in being around Kouga, Kagome looked back at the tall figure and offered a smile. "So how're you doing?"

"Pretty good! So what're you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Kagome nervously laughed. "We needed a mini break."

Kouga nodded. "Ah I see. Uh, well, are you and Inu-Yasha actually together now?"

Kagome stood in silence for a good moment as the question was abruptly thrown at her. "I… um… don't know."

"You don't know?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No."

"So you do know?"

"No, I meant... I don't know." She gulped as Kouga searched for a response for her idiotic reply.

"So you don't know if it's official?"

She laughed feebly. "I don't even know if it's not official. I mean, I don't know what to expect from that guy. I don't know what he's thinking or how he feels about me. I mean, you obviously know that he kissed me last night but then today," She laughed again. "He acts like not a _thing _happened last night!"

"I didn't know that happened because I left as soon as you ditched me to dance with him."

Kagome's face was red with embarrassment at her outburst. "W-well you know now."

"And… so does everybody else." Kouga looked around as people were throwing drifty looks at Kagome.

She groaned. "Oh god." She whispered. "Do you think they're going to tell the paparazzi?"

"Well all they can say is that you and Inu-Yasha are having couple problems and everyone goes through that."

Kagome sighed. "This is so frustrating. I mean," she managed to keep her voice low so no one else could hear but Kouga, "he's so hard to figure out. Anyway, why do you care?"

"Well as soon as I saw you dancing with him, I thought I had no chance so I'm turning on a new leaf. Instead, I'm going to after that chick you're always hanging around with." He smirked and looked around to find the wanted girl.

Kagome followed Kouga's eye and was shocked to see him staring at her best friend. "You mean Ayame?"

"Yeah, I mean, look at that skirt she's wearing. _Damn!_"

"Oh god," Kagome laughed as Kouga wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"We'd look so good together. I mean, imagine her - a sexy chick with me - one of the world's finest bachelor. And from the looks of it, she has a cute personality." He turned back to Kagome and she couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "So you think I have a chance?"

She nodded. "Go for it."

He surprised her by leaning down and giving her a quick kiss. Pulling back he smirked again. "That was just to piss Inu-Yasha off _if_ he ever finds out. Good luck with him, by the way."

Kagome, completely baffled, nodded dumbly and watched him approach Ayame. Looking around cautiously, she was relieved to see no one had noticed the quick exchange between them two and turned around to walk in the tent when she heard Sango run up to her.

"Okay, well, Ayame and I have figured out the plan but to keep it confidential, we're not going to tell you because then it wont exactly work out." She breathed out in one sentence.

Slowing her walk, Kagome frowned. "Then how do I know the plan's working if you're not going to tell me?"

"You won't. But we will and we'll do anything to make sure it does -." Sango stopped as something caught her eye. "Hold on, I'm sure I saw a hotel maid spying on us from behind that tree." With that, she left Kagome and ran towards the looming tree.

_x.x._

At exactly twelve thirty, Sango, Kagome and Ayame walked into the posh restaurant at the back of the hotel. It had an indoor fountain which was set dab in the middle of the floor which Kagome found completely fascinating. Finding their reserved seats, the three girls walked towards the glass table, delighted to see that their table looked over the pool _and _the golf course behind it.

Miroku looked up from his menu to greet them as they gathered around the table. "So where'd you three go?"

Sango dropped her purse beside her chair as she took a seat. "We went to this fair that was only here for a limited amount of time and got our fortunes told. And Ayame got Kouga to buy her a necklace worth a hundred thousand dollars."

Inu-Yasha perked up at Kouga's name. "He was there?"

"Yeah, but apparently, he's after Ayame now." Kagome said slyly as Ayame fiddled with the gold chain around her neck. "You should've seen her reaction when he gave her the gift."

"_Anyway,_" Ayame swiftly changed the subject. "Why are we eating in the restaurant? I thought the plan was to call room service in our suite and order _everything._ "

Miroku smiled at her question. "Well, I heard they had _awesome _chocolate lava cakes here and I love chocolate -."

All at once, a violinist stroked his bow hair against the violin.

Surprised, they all turned towards the man playing the instrument directly in front of them. Strangely enough, it seemed like he was playing _for _them.

Sending a fleeting glance of confusion towards Inu-Yasha, Kagome looked back and forth between the violinist and her friends. After a minute had gone by, she finally got the audacity to ask Inu-Yasha what was going on. Leaning towards him, she whispered so the man would not be interrupted. "Why is he playing for us?"

He shrugged. "I have no fucking clue."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows as he continued to play. "Inu-Yasha, make him stop. This is _awkward._"

He nodded. Leaning back, he gestured the musician come closer. "Hey, ass wipe, go play for someone else."

The musician smiled and nodded. Leaning back, he picked up his bow and as if he had not heard what Inu-Yasha said – continued playing.

The group had to hold their breath to restrain themselves from laughing.

Miroku turned towards Inu-Yasha. "I _don't _think he understood you, buddy."

Kagome giggled and picked up her menu. "Just ignore him. It's not like he's playing anything _bad._"

"It's the fact that he's standing _right _in front of our table." Inu-Yasha muttered, already annoyed with the unwanted violinist.

The next half an hour went by smoothly. After the first ten minutes had gone by, a violist, cellist and a double bass player had joined the violinist. By now, the group was red with laughter. No matter how many times they had told the musicians to go way, they stayed rooted to their spot.

"This is_ insane._" Miroku muttered as he tried to eat his Chicken Goulash. "All we need now is someone to sing some Opera."

Kagome who couldn't find it in her heart to disrespect the musicians tried to hold in her laughter. "I said to _ignore _the musicians. That way, we can eat and be out of here in no time."

"Kagome, they keep increasing in number." Ayame said and stole one of Kagome's sesame shrimps. "Oh my god, Inu-Yasha – go complain to the manager or something."

"Can't you see I'm _eating?" _He took a sip from his iced smoothie and then cut a slice from his Bruschetta. "Tell Miroku to go."

"Not before I eat my lava cake."

"Oh, don't you all look at _me._" Sango said defensively. "I've never been to a restaurant as fancy as this in my life and I'm not going to ruin the experience by running to the manager's office to write a complaint. Make Kagome go."

Inu-Yasha looked at. "Nah, she prefers to _ignore _them – no matter _how _loud they get."

"Don't _mock _me." She was about to take a bite from her shrimp when the band struck a high note. Gritting her teeth, she caved in. "Fine, I'll go."

"Inu-Yasha, why don't you go with her?" Sango suddenly asked, making Kagome immediately tense. "I mean, if you go with her, won't they feel more urge to do something to fix the situation?"

He innocently looked at Kagome and shrugged. "_Fine_."

They both pushed their seats back and got up. After exiting the restaurant, Kagome casually followed Inu-Yasha towards the main lobby of the restaurant. As they walked, a small question popped in her mind. "Oh, Inu-Yasha?"

He slowed down his pace and turned his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Do you by chance happen to know a girl by the name 'Kitty'?" She asked, remembering how Inu-Yasha's name had come up _twice _in the conversation with her.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded once. "We, uh, dated."

"_Oh." _Kagome crossed her arms across her chest. "Of course."

"Why?" He asked and stopped walking to completely face her.

"We just met today, that's all. I saw Bum too. Was she your girlfriend as well?"

Inu-Yasha sent a confused look towards her. "What the hell are you getting so pissed off about?"

"I'm not getting pissed off!"

"Yes you are." He blocked her path as she tried to walk by.

Kagome sighed as he stepped in her way. "I'm _not _angry, alright?"

Inu-Yasha stared directly at her for a good minute. "Fine."

"Alright then." Kagome uncrossed her arms and put them on her hips. "Can you step out of the way then?"

"No."

She cocked her head to the side, obviously confused. "Why?"

He took in deep breath. "I have to ask you something."

Kagome, at once, became alert. For some reason, she knew what it was about. "Um, before you start. Is it about… last night?"

"Yeah." Inu-Yasha looked somewhat relieved that she had known what he was about to bring up. "Even though this morning I said I didn't want to talk about it, Miroku says I'm being an asshole so I should."

"Well, thank Miroku for me." She said in exaggeration.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Inu-Yasha suddenly said and looked around the hallway. "I mean, anyone could walk in on us."

Kagome's heart leapt. He wanted to talk in privacy? That meant if anything embarrassing was said or done, there would be no way out. "Okay." She managed to squeak out.

_x.x _

Sango looked around the corner to see Inu-Yasha and Kagome turn a corner. Frowning, she returned to her table where Miroku was happily enjoying his lava cake.

"Well, it seems like they forgot to inform the manager about our situation."

Ayame took a sip of her drink. "So should we take our plan into action?"

"I guess so." She looked up at the musicians. "But what do we do with them?"

"I think they'll figure out they have to stop when we're gone."

Miroku finally looked up from his lava cake. "What do you mean by 'when we're gone'?"

Sango scooted her chair closer to Miroku and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "We made a plan to ditch Inu-Yasha and Kagome so they are _forced _to spend time together."

Miroku looked at her innocently. "What good would that do?"

"They'll end up talking and figuring out some things!" Rolling her eyes as Miroku nodded in understanding, she took the fork out of his hand. "So we have to go _now._"

"But I haven't finished my lava cake!"

"Order one for dinner." Despite his protests, she pulled him out of his chair and dragged him out the door.

_x.x _

Inu-Yasha led Kagome back into the pool house. Making sure no one had been following them; he closed the door and walked toward Kagome who had decided to sit in one of the beach chairs. As he sat down on a chair beside her, he was glad as she started the conversation.

"Let's cut the short talk and get straight to the point. Why did you kiss me last night?" Even though she would've rather liked to stare at the floor, she forced her eyes to meet up with his.

"Because…" he took a deep breath, "when we were fighting– at first, I just wanted to shut you up so without thinking, I kissed you. But when I did, I forgot what I was supposed to do and all I could think about was how you thought I hated you and I… wanted to prove to you that I didn't."

Kagome felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"And then you kissed me back and then I lost _all _train of thought."

Kagome nodded slowly. "I think I get it." A silence stretched between them and Kagome realized it was her turn to explain. "Okay… to be honest, I kissed you back because -."

Her words were lost as a shrill ring ran through the pool house. At the same time, they both realized what it was.

Inu-Yasha swore as he pulled out his cell phone. Looking at the caller ID, dread filled his eyes as he realized who was calling. "It's my parents."

Kagome gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god, we forgot to call them!"

Inu-Yasha flicked open his cell and brought it up to his ear. "Hello?"

_"You lying bastard. Where the hell are you?" _

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow as he realized it was not his mother but Karira on the phone. "Does mom and dad know we're gone?"

_"Of course they know, you ass! How dare you ditch us! Where are you? Are you even going to come here?" _

Inu-Yasha sighed. "Uh… talk to Kagome."

"What!" Gaping as Inu-Yasha threw her his cell phone, Kagome stared at him in disbelief as she quickly brought the phone to her ear. "Karira?"

_"Hold on Kagome, my mom wants to talk to you." _

Kagome bit her lip as she heard the phone being passed around. After a good fifteen seconds, Mr. Taisho cleared his throat to talk.

_"You better have a good reason." _

Kagome felt her stomach quench. Mr. Taisho was angry… with her? That was definitely a first. Taking a moment to bring up the courage to talk, she quickly thought up of a lie. "Inu-Yasha ran out of gas."

Inu-Yasha snickered at her excuse. "You're going to need solid proof for that one."

_"You ran out of gas? Gas? But the drive was only fifteen minutes. You could've walked." _

"Ah, yes. But Sango sprained her ankle… and none of us knew the way. But then, Miroku… he said that he knew a hotel nearby and so we're at the um…" She looked at Inu-Yasha for the name. "Oh, we're at the Royal Casino Hotel."

_"But that hotel is further away from our villa than the docks are." _

"But we didn't know the way to the docks."

_"How could you not know the way to the docks? Just walk towards wherever you see water." _

"But we took a wrong turn and we couldn't see anything but the hotel."

_"What turn did you take?" _

"Er… none of us were paying much attention. We all were really excited about going on this trip that resulted in Inu-Yasha taking a wrong turn."

_"Are you lying to me?" _

"**No." **Kagome said slowly, guilt of lying pouring into her.

_"Are you sure?" _

"I'm positive."

_"When are you coming back?" _

"In two nights."

_"Who else is there with you?" _

"Sango, Ayame, Miroku and Inu-Yasha of course."

_"How is Sango's ankle?" _

So he believed her story. Relief washed in her like a tidal wave and she almost forgot to answer his question. "Oh, it's swollen but it'll be fine by the time we come back. She still can't walk though."

_"Do you all have separate bedrooms?" _

"Yeah. We do." She glared at Inu-Yasha as his father mentioned this.

_"Well, I will be calling back every other hour to make sure you all stay grounded." _

Kagome groaned as she heard a dial tone. "This sets the record of consecutive lies told in a minute."

Inu-Yasha was about to say something when his phone rang again. Sighing, he picked up the cell phone and read the caller ID. "It's my mom again."

"Don't you _dare _give it to me."

Smirking, he flipped open the phone and murmured a dreary 'hello.'

_"Oh, hello Inu-Yasha. I just wanted to make sure you all had fresh underwear and clothes." _

"Mom? What are you talking about?"

_"I heard what happened to Sango. It must've been hard to carry her and all of your bags to the hotel so you must've left some of them in the car. Right?" _

"Actually we managed to bring them all."

_"Oh, really? Well, I was just making sure. Tell Sango that I hope she feels better soon. Karira's upset that you guys didn't come so I advise you buy something for her that she'll like." _

"Okay, fine – I'll buy her something."

_"We'll be calling back!" _

"I don't doubt you will."

_"Take care!" _

Inu-Yasha shut the phone and put it back in his pocket. "So…"

The door to the pool house opened and a hotel worker peeked in. "I'm sorry but we have to close the pool houses at this hour so we can clean the water."

Inu-Yasha mentally swore again. Did _everyone _have plans to interrupt them? Standing up, he picked up the brochure from the table "Do you want to do something?"

Kagome looked at him, obviously still tense about lying to his parents. "Like what?"

"Well, let's read this through, shall we?"

_x.x _

**That was twenty one pages on Microsoft word!8000words!So I better not hear anyone saying the chapter was _short. _**

**I'll get around to editing it tomorrow so please forgive me for the typos that I'm sure are written all over the chapter. **

Owari Nai Yumes**: You want him to kiss her again? You'll have to wait for an update for that. (I'm not promising anything though) **

kuroiYouma: **Aaah! Leslie, I don't get to talk to yoou! Expect a long email from me sometime soon! **

Super Ceech**: I win, I win, I win, I win! The secrets are miiine! **

LilMoonGoddess**: Aw, thanks! And no way am I _ending _this story any time soon. So no need to worry! **

QtKiTTi**: Thanks for letting me use your name for this chapter! (hands over a bunch of flowers and chocolate to you) **

Inuyashas' Plaything**: I'm so glad I have someone to share my sorrow with. Yes, I know – the departure of the Blue's Clues host affected many little children around the world, including us. Heh, and I burst up laughing at what you said about him having no _chance _at staying sane. **

drake220**: I agree! Not only that, after watching an episode of Blue's Clues just a few weeks ago, I realized how creepy the mailbox looks. Just standing there…waiting for Steve to come to his chair… **

robin's clone**: Haha, yes, I never will understand why celebrities spend so much on two nights. (I contradict my writing, I know) **

A. Purrsun: **Thanks! I was nervous about the character of Karira at first so I'm so glad you liked her!**

Cherrysinger: **Dark fluff? Very interesting! I'm going to mention that in the next chapter! It just sounds so cool! And also, I will never give up on this story! It's like my baby!**

Midnight MM: **Ah, you supported me when reviewers started cursing at me! I thank you! (gives you chocolate) **


	24. It’s Official

**Happy New Years ! **

**I sincerely hope you all _forgive _me for this tremendously late update – but here it is, a new chapter!**

**P.S : Also, since I haven't updated in so long – many of you might've forgotten the events of the last chapter. To refresh your memory – Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Ayame decided to go to the Royal Casino Hotel _instead _of the family vacation. After Kagome realizes that she has, in fact, fallen for Inu-Yasha, a stroke of insecurity hits her. As if on cue, Inu-Yasha and Kagome find the time to talk about the kiss that happened between them the night before at the party. They're interrupted, however, by a phone call and can't continue their conversation when a hotel worker asks them to leave the pool house due to closing hours. **

**P.S.S – Super Ceech: I took a break for A WEEK – and you… beat me? But… how…you were bulldozing… **

**P.S.S.S – I know nothing about driving a golf–cart. I made _everything _up about the rules. Hehe. So forgive me for that. **

………………

**Chapter Twenty Four**

**It's Official**

………………

Kagome walked out of the pool house nervously, watching Inu-Yasha as he fought with his father on his cell phone. It had been no longer than a minute when his father called again, reminding him of the strict rules ground upon him. As he shut his blinged out cell phone, he turned around and held up it up. "I should break this."

She laughed, taking it from him. "How about _I _keep this? At least I won't cuss when they call again."

Smirking as he remembered his previous conversation with his father, he shrugged callously. "Ah, he'll get over it." Frowning, he lifted up his black T-shirt. "It's so hot." With that, he pulled it off, revealing a nicely tanned chest.

Averting her eyes somewhere else, Kagome mentally berated herself at the predicament she was stuck in. The tension between them was so _thick._ After their conversation had been interrupted with a call from Inu-Yasha's parents, the ball had been left in her court. Every time he looked at her, it seemed he was awaiting the rest of what she had to say. He had basically told her that he liked her – in a more than 'just friends' way. And_ just _when she was about to tell him she had actual feelings for him – his cell phone rang.

Too nervous at what she might say or do if she _did _look at his half naked self, she took the brochure from his hands and read it. "So I've narrowed it down to… the spa or the Jacuzzi."

"Why don't we go hot air ballooning"

"Huh?" She snapped her eyes from the brochure to Inu-Yasha, immediately regretting it as she got a good look at his chest. "Um… ride a _hot air balloon?" _

He grinned. "Why not? There's just a small fee."

"_Small _fee? You consider five grand a small fee?" Kagome shook her head. "Anyway… anything could go wrong. The balloon could pop, or we could land on the wrong place -."

"It'll be fun." He pressed on. "Come on."

Kagome shook her head. "I, uh -." She stuttered as she failed to come up with a good excuse. Either it was because she was scared of spending time alone with Inu-Yasha or it was because his delicious abs looked too tempting.

"We could ask the group to come along as well." He started walking down the corridor towards the restaurant. "They would -." He stopped abruptly as he entered the restaurant. Getting a good look around the place, his shoulders slumped as he analyzed what had happened behind their back. "They ditched us."

Kagome ran up to catch up with him. "Are you serious?" Turning the corner, she felt dread pool her stomach as their previous table was occupied with someone else. "So this was their plan…"

"What?" Inu-Yasha looked back at Kagome, "Whose plan?"

"Never mind," Sighing, she shook her head. "Miroku had his cell phone on him, right? Let's just call him and figure out where they went." She had flipped open her cell phone when Inu-Yasha grabbed it from her.

"Let's just do our own thing and if we run into the them, we can let 'em hear it." He pocketed his cell phone, put his hands behind his head, and leaned against the wall.

Surprised by his attitude, Kagome nodded slowly. "Alright, then. So what do you suppose we do?"

"Go on the balloon?"

She fidgeted. "_No._" Snatching the brochure from Inu-Yasha's hand, she flipped it open and read the contents. "How about we -."

"There's a great game of croquet starting soon!"

Both Inu-Yasha and Kagome turned towards the maid standing beside them. Raising an eyebrow, Kagome glanced at Inu-Yasha who had straightened his posture and then back again at the maid. "Where'd _you _come from?"

"Oh… um…" She stuttered with a wimpy smile. "I was just sent to follow you two around and help whenever you needed it."

Kagome widened her eyes. "So it was you who put our clothes on the hangers in the Sauna!"

She looked crestfallen as she nodded. "I didn't mean to make it so obvious but you did pay _full _price for your stay," She waved towards Inu-Yasha "And we wanted to make this your best visit."

Inu-Yasha scrunched his forehead in thought. "Back when we were eating – is that why those musicians started playing?"

The maid nodded furiously. "Well, yes. We thought you all would enjoy it."

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "What made you think that?"

Kagome frowned as the maid looked down at the floor. "Inu-Yasha, don't be so harsh on her." She gave the maid a sympathetic smile. "So where's this… croquet game?"

"I'm notplaying that." Inu-Yasha spoke up before the maid got to answer.

Kagome glared at Inu-Yasha. "Yes you are."

He looked baffled. "_Why? _It's a game for guys who have no athletic ability."

Resting her hands on her hips, Kagome let out a sigh. "It's a really well known, famous game. Anyway, I've never played before so I want to know how to. Who knows, maybe its fun."

"I doubt it." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Inu-Yasha shook his head. "You aren't making me go."

"If you go… I'll go on the hot air balloon afterwards." She held in a smile as she saw him glance towards her. "Deal?"

He thought for a moment before sighing. "Fine." Pushing off the wall, he nodded towards the maid. "Show us to the field."

A bright smile lit upon her face. "Of course! Just follow me." As she turned around to leave, Inu-Yasha leaned in close to Kagome.

"If I make a fool of myself, it's _your entire_ fault."

Feeling his breath upon her ear, Kagome felt herself blush. Taking in a steady breath, she took a step ahead of Inu-Yasha to create some distance, not trusting herself to actually stand beside him. Since when had he been able to make her blush like a sixteen year old high school girl? Nervousness creeping into her again, she took another steady breath. _Just _because she had realized she had feelings for him, didn't mean she had to make it so obvious. For all she knew, Inu-Yasha didn't feel the same way.

As they exited the hotel, the maid took a whistle from her pocket and blew on it.

Dumfounded, Kagome gasped as a golf cart pulled up. The maid turned around and grinned. "Just sit in the cart and cross the golf course and then you'll see a field with a croqueting match about to begin." She took out a map and pointed to a red dot. "They'll explain the rules if you two don't know how to play and then you can go against others." She handed Kagome the keys. "If you need _anything – _just call me." Handing the map to Inu-Yasha, she gave them one last smile before heading back into the hotel.

"We get to ride a golf-cart!" Kagome squealed and ran up to the golf cart, admiring the little transporter. Sitting in front of the wheel, she called for Inu-Yasha to hurry up.

Inu-Yasha followed her; consciously aware of the fact she was avoiding his gaze. "So who's driving?"

"I am."

Slipping into the golf cart beside Kagome, Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "No, you're not."

Sighing with frustration, she finally snapped her head to look at Inu-Yasha straight in the eye. "And _why _not?"

"Well for one, you don't even have your driver's license so according to law, you're not allowed to drive a golf cart and secondly – you know shit about driving a golf cart." He took the keys from Kagome's hand and was about to insert it when Kagome took it back.

"It can't be that hard. I've seen people on TV do it."

He sighed. "Fine but I'm not helping you or anything." Sighing contently, he closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair. "Have fun."

"I won'tneed your help." Shrugging, Kagome inserted the key and turned it. Hearing the cart start its ignition, she put her hand on the wheel. "Well… I guess I step on this pedal, right?" Without another thought, Kagome pressed down on the right pedal.

Cracking his right eye open to look down to which pedal she was pressing, Inu-Yasha swore. "Not _that _-."

Kagome screamed as the golf-cart sped backwards, "What did I _dooo?" _

"Get your foot _off _the pedal." Inu-Yasha looked back to see that they were, in fact, heading straight for a Porsche. "_NOW._"

Instead of taking her foot off, Kagome quickly took the key out of the ignition, just as it horridly crashed into the 2006 Porsche Cayman. As the golf-cart stopped to an abrupt halt, the alarm for the car turned on, the shrilling ring piercing their ears.

Groaning, Kagome buried her head in her hands. "Oh my god… I am _so _dead."

"What're you doing!" Inu-Yasha snatched the keys from Kagome and quickly put them in the ignition. "Drive!"

"But -."

"Foot on the right pedal. _NOW." _

Kagome hesitated before pressing down. At once, the cart sped forward. "Wait a minute! What're we doing?"

"There's no way in hell I'm going to pay for _that!" _Inu-Yasha took the wheel and turned it right towards the golf path.

Gasping, Kagome turned around to look at the damage she had caused. Forgetting to keep her foot on the pedal, the golf-cart halted to a stop. Yelping as she was tugged back by the force of the stop, Kagome felt dread fill her stomach as she saw that the headlights were smashed.

"_Kagome!" _Inu-Yasha said urgently as he grabbed her by the stomach and pulled her back down. "I swear, switch seats with me right -."

"I did _that?" _Kagome pointed weakly towards the car. "I think I should go apologize right now."

"Are you crazy?" Turning her back around, he put her hands on the wheel. "You said you wanted to drive… so _drive_!"

She looked at him. "But I just smashed that person's car!"

"And if you don't drive, you'll be paying for it too. I can tell it's a new model so here's a hint – it won't be cheap," He looked at her, annoyed. "So put your foot on the freaking pedal and let's _go." _

Kagome bit her lip. "Fine…" She whispered. Pressing down on the pedal, they were moving when she quickly swerved to the right. "No, I can't do that. They're going to blame it on the hotel manager and then sue them. It won't be right."

Growling with frustration, Inu-Yasha took the wheel and turned it to the left. "Listen; let's go before someone comes out of the hotel. The car alarm is on and I _don't _want to take the blame for it."

Kagome pouted and pulled the wheel to the right. "_No." _

"Listen to me and let's go!"

"But it's not morally right!"

"We look like _idiots _driving zig zags across the parking lot, Kagome."

Kagome gasped as the hotel door opened. "_Shit. _That guy looks pissed!"

Inu-Yasha glanced back to see a middle aged guy step out, already cursing at the hotel manager who was desperately trying to apologize. "Now do you -."

Kagome panicked. "We've got to get out of here!" Allowing Inu-Yasha to steer to the left, he increased the speed of the cart and sped up the hill.

Praying to god that they wouldn't see them, Kagome had her hands on her face, too afraid to look up.

As soon as Inu-Yasha reached the top of the hill, out of the manager's sight, he hit the brakes and turned to look at Kagome, exasperated.

Peeking out of from her hands at Inu-Yasha, she whimpered. "What?"

"If you had let me drive in the beginning – we wouldn't have been in that mess in the first place." He leaned back in the chair, squinting as the sun hit his eyes. He looked at her, and after a second, burst into laughter.

Surprised at his sudden change of mood, Kagome folded her arms across her chest. "What's so funny?"

"You should have seen yourself. You freaked out sobadly."

"Well, I was expecting an eighteen year old teenager like myself. Not some fifty year old fat man." She cocked her head to the side cutely as he continued laughing. "It wasn't _that _funny."

"Oh, yes it was." He pulled down his cap to hide the sun from his eyes. Feigning a high pitched voice, he imitated her "We've got to get out of here!"

"Shut _up._" Kagome blushed pink, "I didn't sound like that."

"Trust me, you did."

Letting out a heavy breath as she decided to ignore him, Kagome turned the key. "Come on, we'll be late for the croquet match."

"Oh, you're not driving this time. Get out and we'll trade seats." He nudged her to the side but she defiantly sat on her spot.

"But I _want _to drive." Whining, she nudged him back. "Teach me, will you?"

He sighed, and thought for a moment. "Fine, but if you crash into anything else – you're _walking._" Seeing her roll her eyes, he continued on "Well, it's pretty basic." He pointed to the three pedals on the mat in front of Kagome. The right one goes back… as you clearly demonstrated – the middle one slows you down or stops completely if your going too fast, and the left one accelerates forward."

Kagome nodded as an understanding. "But what about the gears?"

"It's set on auto and we'll keep it at that because if wasn't, you'll drive it into a tree." He glared at her and then sat back. "So start driving."

"Okay." Taking in a deep breath, she slowly put her right foot on the left pedal.

As the golf-cart drove forward, Inu-Yasha relaxed. "There, you got it- _shit_." He lurched forward as Kagome hit the brakes. Holding onto his chair, he growled as he pushed himself back. "What the hell was that for?"

She smiled innocently at him. "I was just testing the brakes."

He was about to retaliate but decided against it when she looked back at the pathway cutely, her forehead scrunched in concentration. Blinking, he felt uneasiness creep into him as he realized what he just thought. Kagome being cute? If someone had said to him a year ago that he'd think that, he'd have punched them in the face. Tapping his foot impatiently against the golf-cart mat in thought, he snuck a glance at her as she drove slowly.

What was she about to say in the pool room before his sister's phone call?

-

_Kagome nodded slowly. "I think I get it." A silence stretched between them and Kagome realized it was her turn to explain. "Okay… to be honest, I kissed you back because -."_

-

Biting his bottom lip, he felt curiosity rise in himself. If not the best, it was the perfect time to ask her. They were alone. There wasn't anybody around. And they weren't talking about anything else anyway. Hesitating, he thought against it. It would just bring the tension back in between them. He knew that she knew and that she knew that he knew that when they exited the pool room, there was so much discomfort between them that it was suffocating.

Looking back at her, he sighed for the umpteenth time that day. It was a miracle she had forgiven him. Yet even though he should've been fine with just being her friend, he still felt unsettled.

He knew he shouldn't be thinking about it but he could help but wonder what she felt for him. Could it be _possible _that she liked him more than just a friend? Not that he _cared_, of course but his trail of thought led him to wonder. She _had _miraculously hugged him quickly this morning – something she had never done before. And she didn't seem to mind so much that they had been left alone.

"I see the golf course!" Kagome squealed and slowed down the golf-cart. "Should I press the brakes the entire time going down this hill?"

Inu-Yasha was snapped out of his thoughts and he straightened his posture to see where they were. "Go ahead."

Kagome nodded slowly and cautiously drove down the hill, her full concentration on the pathway.

Spontaneously, Inu-Yasha smirked as an idea came to mind. "Let's play Truth or Dare."

Kagome scoffed. "There's not much we can _dare _to do in a small golf-cart." Hearing him sigh, she sent him a quick glance, "Alright. How about we just ask each other questions and by swearing on our life, we can't lie."

He hesitated for a second. "Fine. I'll let you ask the first one then."

"Hmm." She turned the cart slowly to the right as a turn came. "What happened to the movie you were starring in?" she asked randomly.

"We start filming next summer." He grinned at her. "Is that all you had to ask?"

She shrugged. "Well, I've known you for my entire lifeThere isn't much I don't know about you."

He nodded, "Well, in a year – I'm going to be a movie star. Ah, life's great." He saw Kagome laugh and shake her head. "Well, I have one important question for you." He thought for a moment as to how he should word it, "What was the entire thing going on with this Naraku fellow?"

Kagome immediately stiffened, fear pricking in her stomach at the mere sound of his name. Biting her bottom lip, she concentrated on the path in front as it curved. As soon as she saw that a straight path was in front of them, she eased. "I met him way back when we you got arrested."

Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrows. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Would you shut up and listen?" Kagome snapped and then continued on. "I let it spill that I knew you and that I didn't like you very much. He took offense to that so I immediately became his next target."

"Next target?" Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, aware of Kagome's nervousness at the topic.

"Who knows? Maybe he's stalked and kidnapped dozens of people before he saw me. He carried a gun and a knife with him at all times." She held his gaze for a second. "Well then, after I got well we went on that small trip to that Island? It was creepy. I was on the beach and then he pulled a knife to my throat and told me that if I didn't introduce you to him and somehow make you his boyfriend, he'd use the knife on me."

"That's why you were shaken up when I came on the beach?"

Kagome sighed and put the brakes on the cart. "Either I talk or you talk. Decide."

He rolled his eyes. "Talk about attitude."

Ignoring him, Kagome started up the cart again and continued. "Well… nothing else happened on the trip except for the paparazzi snapping photos of us together and it resulting in us to act like a couple. When I got back, however, during the night, Naraku called me. I shut the phone and I was going to head over to _you _and tell you what was happening when I bumped into Sesshomaru who didn't believe a word I said. He let me sleep in his bed though, which I suppose was nice."

Inu-Yasha swore. "That ass. He could've put a stop to this but his stupid ego…"

"_Then _– that night… I'm guessing he kidnapped Tiffany. She came back last night, telling me that I shouldn't call the police about this because he'll do something drastic. I ignored her… and called the police."

Inu-Yasha glanced at her. "Wow."

She shrugged. "It's nothing big. I mean, as long as he stays behind bars – I'm safe."

"Why didn't you tell me all of this was happening?" he said as he took off his cap and put it in his lap.

"I didn't know _how _to tell you. You don't expect a person to just come up to you and say 'Hey, I have a male stalker who wants to date you… please save my life?'" Kagome said, exasperated. "Anyway, what's done is done and I'm hoping I never have to see Naraku again."

Inu-Yasha nodded slowly and then glanced at Kagome. How the hell had this girl kept quiet about all of that for such a long time? A tide of guilt washed over him as he realized all this had happened because of his fame. And _still _she had forgiven him. Deciding on the spur of the moment at what he was about to do, he quickly leaned over and gave her a cute and short kiss on the cheek.

Surprised, Kagome froze at the feel of his lips against her skin. As he pulled back, Kagome blushed red almost instantly. "What was that for?"

"Just 'cuz you haven't killed me during my sleep these past fourteen years." He smirked, feeling his stomach flip at her reaction. His smirk turned into a full grin as she looked away to hide her embarrassment.

_x.x_

It took about ten minutes for them to drive across the golf course and as Kagome neared the end of the path, she spotted a hotel worker waving his arms at them. "You guys can park here. But hurry on; they're going to gather every one in a couple of minutes."

Adrenaline pumping in her veins, Kagome got out of the cart and handed the keys to the worker. Squealing, she grabbed Inu-Yasha's hand and ran down the rest of the hill until they came to a fairly large field. No more than thirty people were gathered there and it seemed by the look of it, they were starting the game soon.

Running up to benches they had put up, Kagome pulled Inu-Yasha to sit on the first row. As they sat down, Kagome smiled broadly. "This is going to be _fun._"

As soon as his bad mood had disappeared, it was back again. "I still can't believe I'm here."

"Ssh! They're explaining the game now."

A short, blonde, woman stood in front of them, holding a mallet with her right hand and a ball with her left. Leaning on the mallet, she spoke. "There will be ten teams of three. Each team will verse another. The five teams that win their round will then proceed to verse each other. Two teams that win three consecutive games proceed to verse each other. The winning team gets a trophy." She pointed towards the far left where a trophy was placed on top of a stand. "Let me explain the rules:

Each team is assigned a color, and each player will receive their own mallet and ball. The objective of the game is to hit the ball through the gates and towards the peg at the end of the grass. After doing so, you must knock the ball through another set of gates and hit the starting peg. The team that has their players individually complete this the fastest wins the round."

Kagome poked Inu-Yasha in the arm. "Inu-Yasha… we only have two people with us. Who's going to be our third member?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Kagome looked around, looking for a suitable team player. She was about to call out to a random person who seemed pretty lost when brown hair tied in pig tails caught her attention. Gasping, she shook Inu-Yasha's arm, pointing towards the person when he looked. "It's Ayame!"

He looked through the crowd, seeing Miroku and Sango sitting innocently beside Ayame, oblivious to their discovery.

Kagome sat back in her chair, peeved. "I can't believe this. They ditch us and now they're _happily _enjoying their time here."

Inu-Yasha grinned. "I guess we'll just have to beat them." Looking behind them, he tapped a random persona's knee. "Are you a good croquet player?"

Surprised, the boy fixed his glasses. "Of course I am -."

"That's good enough. You're going to be with us, okay?"

Stunned, the boy could do nothing but nod. As they got up, the hotel worker came to them. "So is this your team?"

"Yup." Kagome watched as she wrote down the contestants. "Oh… and can we verse _that _team over there?" She pointed to Ayame, Miroku and Sango who were standing up, waiting to get their color.

"If you want, sure." She pulled out a chain with a colored tag hanging from the end of it. "You'll be orange. Who's team captain?"

"I am!" Kagome perked up and quickly took the chain. Slipping it around her neck, she lifted her hair and flipped them behind her shoulders. As the hotel worker left, she turned around, disappointment scourging through her as she saw two frowning boys. "Oh, cheer up." Leaning down to what seemed to be a fourteen year old boy, she poked him in the chest. "What's your name?"

"Jason."

"Okay, well, you're going to up first, alright? And then I'll go and then Inu-Yasha will."

The boy sighed. "I was supposed to simply be a spectator but if you need me _this _badly… I suppose I'll stay."

Inu-Yasha punched him lightly on the arm. "Don't get too big of an ego, kid."

"Same goes to you, Inu-Yasha." Kagome said with a sugary smile and then walked towards the basket of mallets and balls.

_x.x_

Priceless.

That's what Kagome would have called the scene when she saw Miroku, Sango and Ayame step up to the plate.

Horrifically embarrassing.

That's what she would have called the scene when both teams were eliminated. Apparently, the game was going excruciatingly slow and after the ball had been knocked _out _of the course the second time by Kagome – the game manager called the game a tie.

As for now, all five of them were walking up the path towards the parking space for their golf-carts.

"I told you it'd be bull." Inu-Yasha muttered as Kagome walked beside him.

"_I _had fun." She spoke as if it were obvious. "If we weren't under pressure to finish the round so quickly, I would've gotten the hang of it sooner." Kagome justified. "But, anyway. Shouldn't we be targeting the people who _ditched _us?"

Ayame groaned. "You guys weren't supposed to come to the croquet matches. We thought Inu-Yasha would've stopped you."

"It was the last place we thought we'd see you two." Sango added.

"_That's _nice to hear." Kagome pouted, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Why'd you leave anyway?"

Miroku patted Sango's back. "Sango wanted you and Inu-Yasha to spend time together so you could figure out what happened last night."

"Shut up." Inu-Yasha snapped at Miroku. "That's none of your business."

Sango rolled her eyes. "But you two are acting as if you never made out!"

Kagome glared at Sango. "Will you guys drop it?"

"But you _made _out." Ayame said, putting dead weight to each and every word.

"Inu-Yasha, do you want to drive the cart this time?" Kagome completely avoided the topic.

Catching him off guard, Inu-Yasha nodded, a tint of pink gracing his cheeks. "Yeah, sure."

_x.x_

It was about eight thirty .p.m. when they had dropped off their golf carts and had decided to split up for the time being. Miroku and Sango had decided to head off to get the chocolate lava cake Miroku had been whining about and Ayame had walked off somewhere, saying she needed to meet with someone. Kagome and Inu-Yasha, who were left alone again had decided to take a short rest in their room before heading off to the hot air balloon.

They were heading towards the lobby when someone clamped their hands around Kagome's eyes.

"Guess _who?" _A female voice chirped.

"Kitty?" Inu-Yasha said out loud as he saw who had taken hold of Kagome.

She sighed as she let go of Kagome. "Baby, you ruined it!"

"Baby?" Kagome asked inquisitively as she turned around to look at the supermodel.

"Yeah, that's what I used to call him when we went out."

Inu-Yasha pocketed his hands, an expression of discomfort glazing over him. "Anyway…"

Kitty giggled, averting her attention to Kagome. "I told you we'd get together sooner or later!"

Kagome forced a smile as Kitty pulled her into a hug. "Yup. Never doubted you…" Pulling back, she felt a tint of jealous as Kitty walked towards Inu-Yasha to give him a hug.

"How about we sit down?" She didn't give a chance for either Kagome or Inu-Yasha to answer as she pulled them back outside to an outdoor table.

It was as if she had planned this. There were three martinis on the table and exactly three seats. Kitty decided to sit exactly between Inu-Yasha and Kagome and scooted her seat closer to Inu-Yasha.

"So what have _you _been up to?" She trailed a finger down his arm before leaned back in her chair.

Kagome caught him glance at her once cautiously before shrugging. "I've just been enjoying summer-."

"What? No parties?" She almost sounded shocked.

"Nope."

Kagome looked down at her martini. She had never drank alcohol and wasn't about to begin now. "So where's your friend Bum?"

"I don't know, last time I saw her she was with her boyfriend. They were patching things up."

Kagome nodded slowly, absolutely uninterested in what she had said. There was a moment of silence before Kitty took hold of Inu-Yasha's hand.

"I've been missing you."

Inu-Yasha pulled his hand away from Kitty. "Well -."

"You've missed me too, right?"

Kagome watched with boredom as Kitty kept throwing questions at Inu-Yasha, completely ignoring Kagome. How had she managed to become the third wheel in a matter of minutes? Trying to shrug away her annoyance as Kitty practically threw herself at Inu-Yasha, Kagome tried to busy herself by looking at the couple making out at the next table.

"So, Inu-Yasha, I hear you've gotten a girlfriend?" she pointed aimlessly to Kagome.

"Yeah. We've been going strong for about two months now." He glanced at Kagome who blinked back innocently.

"Yes, that's nice but don't you just miss the time _we _spent together?"

Kagome looked up, surprised at her sudden question, it being the last straw. Looking back and forth between Inu-Yasha and Kitty, she raised her eyebrows. The _nerve _of her. Never before had she met such an ill conceited woman. She would actually chase a guy when his _girlfriend _was right there? So what if she wasn't exactly his _real _girlfriend but Kitty sure as hell didn't know that.

Inu-Yasha seemed just as surprised with her question. He hesitantly replied. "I'm _with _someone else now. I don't think I need to remember anything from our past relationship."

"How about I just leave you two to talk for a while?" Kagome said out of clenched teeth. Getting up, she picked up her martini and was about to leave when Inu-Yasha grabbed her wrist.

"Just hold on."

"I'll meet you later." Snatching her wrist back, Kagome stalked off towards the door of the lobby.

Realizing she had left her purse, she turned around, only to be welcomed by the sight of Inu-Yasha in a kiss with Kitty.

Not bothering to get her purse, she turned around and headed into the lobby. She should have seen this coming. Just like a pendulum had to swing back to its place, Inu-Yasha was bound to return to his playboy ways sooner or later. Trying to ignore the hurt that was welling up inside of her, she ran towards the elevator.

_x.x_

"Kagome, open the door."

Kagome looked towards the suite door as Inu-Yasha knocked on it hardly. Tuning the televisions volume up louder, she ignored Inu-Yasha as he continued banging on the door.

"I have your purse with me, you _know._"

"Keep it!" Kagome yelled and tuned the volume up even louder to show that she didn't care.

In a minute, Kagome pouted as Inu-Yasha used the suite card that was in her purse to open the door. As he barged in, he stopped dead in his tracks as he looked around. "First of all, what happened here?"

The entire room was dark, and the only thing that was emitting light was the hundreds of lavender scented candles lit around the suite room. Around each candle were two roses. The magnificent chandelier had been lit and the carpet was showered with rose petals. Where the stereo had been, was a record player and the corniest music was floating in the room.

Kagome shrugged. "The maid said it was part of the package." She said coldly and then turned off the television. Folding her arms across her chest, she avoided to look at Inu-Yasha.

Taking in the new environment, Inu-Yasha shook the initial shock off and then turned his attention back towards Kagome. "So you're giving me the cold shoulder again?"

"You deserve it."

"But I didn't _do _anything."

Kagome scoffed. Standing up, she marched up to Inu-Yasha and poked him in the chest. "You were all over her!"

"So now you have a problem with Kitty too? She was just wondering if I was still available and I told her I wasn't! You're at me because of that?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I turned around and I saw you kissing her!" Kagome's voice broke as unexpected emotions hit her.

"She kissed me!" Inu-Yasha fought back, a tint of worry in his tone as he saw Kagome blink away tears.

"It looked like you were enjoying it!"

"What the hell? If you looked on for another second, you'd have seen me pull back!"

"I don't believe you!"

"I told you we'd get together sooner or later!"

"Why!"

"Just because!"

"Not this again!" Inu-Yasha groaned. "Why do you always jump to conclusions!"

"But I'm _right _this time." Kagome felt tears swell up in her eyes. "You know, just for…" She swallowed the sob that was about to escape her lips. "Just for a moment I believe that you might genuinely care for me. I was so _stupid_." Taking a shaky breath, she blinked away the tears but they resurfaced. "It was all an act. Just like last time." At this, a teardrop escaped her eyes.

Inu-Yasha rubbed his eyes, not believing this was happening. Putting his hands to his head, he tried to think up of something legible to say. "_What?" _

Wiping away the tears, Kagome tried to regain control of her nerves. "I can't believe I was so dumb. _Why _did you give me that bracelet? I thought that _maybe _you liked me and I let myself -." She stopped herself before she said something she probably would've regretted later on.

"Let yourself what?" Inu-Yasha said with frustration. He felt like smashing a window right about now.

Looking away, Kagome shook her head. "Just go away!"

"If I leave, we probably won't talk to each other for another two years. Just like last time." Inu-Yasha felt desperation creep within him as Kagome shook her head again.

"Just _leave_." Kagome tapped her heel impatiently against the floor, not trusting herself to look at him.

"I'm not fucking leaving. For god's sake Kagome – why the hell are you so _upset?" _

Kagome's patience snapped. "I have feelings for you, you moron! And all you do is flirt with other girls!" Realizing what she just let slip, she decided if she ever wanted to say what was bottled up inside of her, it would be now. "And I _thought _you might like me back but I'm nothing compared to all those Victoria Secret models you've dated."

Inu-Yasha stared at her, wondering if he had finally lost his mind. She had feelings for him? For _him?_ _Sure_, she had called him a moron – but she _had _just said she had feelings for him… right?

"What?" he said blankly.

Kagome shut her eyes, embarrassment overwhelming her. Opening her eyes, she looked directly at him. "I… um… you …" She gulped, taking a moment to get her words together. "It just happened, alright? You _don't_ have to act upon it or anything." Her voice was so low she was wondered how even _she _could hear herself.

Looking down at her shoes, she was surprised to realize her heart was beating so fast.

The silence between them was thick, and neither of them spoke for a minute and Kagome was about to speak up when Inu-Yasha took a step towards her. Immediately, Kagome took a step back. "What're you doing?"

Inu-Yasha didn't reply as he took another step towards her. As he circled his left arm behind Kagome's waist and drew her closer, he gently put his right hand behind her neck and leaned in to kiss her.

Kagome nearly fainted with shock as she felt his warm lips on hers. Entrapped within his embrace, she let her eyes flutter shut as he moved his lips in a chaste kiss.

All too soon, he pulled back and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You have feelings for me?"

"Mmhmm." She murmured, too fazed to proper a legible sentence. Blushing as she felt him slowly kiss her jaw line, she kissed him back when he leaned in for another short kiss.

Pulling back a centimeter, he opened his eyes and murmured against her lips. "Me?"

"I said yes to that already." Kagome whispered and let him kiss her, knowing he was going to pull back again. "Why are you teasing me like this?"

"Because I can't believe what you're saying." He leaned forward and kissed her for the fourth time, this time parting his lips to kiss her deeper. He was about to pull her closer to him when he broke the kiss. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" This time, Kagome leaned in and caught his lips by surprise.

"What're you two -."

Kagome immediately jumped back from Inu-Yasha as if he was made of electricity. Looking around to see Miroku standing in the door with Ayame and Sango peeking around his shoulders, she tried to catch her breath and look partially decent.

Inu-Yasha bit his lip. Why were they _always _interrupted? Calming his temper, he glanced back at Kagome and then at Miroku who looked… stunned. "You okay?"

"You two were kissing." He blurted out. His eyes darted back and forth between Kagome and Inu-Yasha. "Sango, Ayame, you two saw them kissing right?"

Ayame nodded alongside Sango. "Oh, we saw it."

Inu-Yasha sighed, walking back to Kagome. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he pulled her close to his side. "We are now officially… a _real _couple."

Kagome looked up at him, baffled. "We… are?"

He looked at her with the perfect picture of innocence. "Aren't we?"

A smile lit her face. "I guess we are."

_x.x_

**I'm not good with writing fluff. I hope that was sweet… lol. I hope it was long too. Nineteen pages on Microsoft Word to be exact. Anyway, not to worry – Being Backstage is far from over. I'm guessing four to five more chapters. I'll update within this month or at the latest - next month this time! **

**Also, I'm writing a story on It's a sort of remake of A Wish Upon A Star. There's just… no star and there isn't a wish. I'm pretty focused on that these days. The characters have their own unique personalities and the story contains far different predicaments than A Wish upon a Star did. It's probably going to be the most risqué story I've written. Well, I'd be glad if you read it. You can find it on: **


	25. Star Struck

**Aha! I kept my promise! Thanks for all the reviews, pushed me to find extra writing time in my schedule. **

………………

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**Star Struck**

………………

"Summer's over in a month, eh?" Sango said as she flipped through the TV channels in Ayame's hotel bedroom. Having Miroku and Inu-Yasha offer to order dinner, Ayame, Sango and Kagome finally had some time to themselves and any minute without male testosterone meant it was time for some girl talk.

"Mmmhm."

Ayame looked to Kagome who was holding a velvet cushion to her stomach and dreamily drawing invisible lines on the fabric.

"It looks like someone still can't believe that she's confessed to a really, really_, really_, hot guy today."

Kagome turned her head towards Ayame and let out a sigh of frustration. "Why is it that you can always tell what I'm thinking?"

"It's what best friends are for." Ayame giggled and then pulled herself to sit it in front of Kagome. As Sango moved to gather beside her, she finally let out the question that had been plaguing her mind. "_So, _how'd it happen?"

Kagome shifted uneasily under the gaze of her two friends. "Well… um…" She glanced quickly at the open door. "What if Miroku and Inu-Yasha hear? It'll be embarrassing."

Sango scoffed with a trace of exasperation laced in her voice. "Are you kidding me? Those two are so busy reading the menu; it'd be a miracle if they heard."

"Just close the door."

"Fine." Ayame rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the bed. Tiptoeing across the recently vacuumed carpet floor, she pushed the door shut gently and then turned around to scurry back to the bed. "Now spill it."

Kagome bit her lip as she gathered her thoughts. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she let a smile crease her face. "Well…" Dropping her voice to a whisper, she continued. "We were heading back to the hotel when… Kitty came."

Sango tapped the TV remote on Kagome's thigh to grab her attention. "That blonde?"

Kagome nodded. "_Yeah._ And she literally pulled Inu-Yasha to herself and pretty much flung herself at him. The next thing I knew, I was walking to the hotel and when I turned around, she was _kissing _him."

Ayame's mouth dropped open. "That _bitch._"

"I know, eh? Anyway, when I came back to the room, Inu-Yasha was right behind me and when we got to talking – we started fighting. I don't know how it happened but, I just, told him I liked liked him and then… he _kissed _me." Kagome buried her face in her hands, her skin blushing the color of roses. "Oh my god, I still can't believe it."

Sango grinned. "That is strangely _so _romantic."

"Eee!" Ayame squealed. "I can't believe we walked in on that. You should've warned us or something."

"How was _I _supposed to know he'd kiss me!" Kagome looked up at her friends again.

Sango laughed. "So now you've been in two making out sessions with Inu-Yasha two nights in a row. I need to congratulate you. Even _I _had my doubts."

Kagome rolled her eyes at Sango. "We did not _make out._"

Sango put a hand to Kagome's knee and shook her head. "No, no, see – we walked in on you guys. You were making out."

"We were _kissing _– not making out. Those are two different things." Kagome gestured with her hands. "Kissing is cute and fun and romantic and making out is hot and it's heavy and it's not what we were doing." She explained in a 'matter of fact' way.

"Well… being Inu-Yasha's _girlfriend_, you better expect a lot of making out."

Ayame opened her mouth to speak but shut it when she heard footsteps approach the door. "Okay, sshh, you guys, they're back."

As if on cue, Sango and Kagome quickly straightened their posture, and feigned the best look of innocence they could muster. As the door opened, Kagome felt her heart jump as she saw Inu-Yasha walk in. Pulling her eyes away from him and back to the television, Kagome inhaled deeply as a wave of nervousness hit her._' Act casual…' _Dammit, how was she supposed to act casual _now? _

Feeling a cramp in her side, Kagome leaned back and stretched her lithe figure.

Inu-Yasha smirked at her. "So, what have you girls been up to?"

"Just _gossiping._" Kagome teased as Inu-Yasha jumped onto the bed and crawled over to Kagome. Unable to restrain the smile that crossed her face as Inu-Yasha encircled an arm around her waist, she felt the need to strike up a conversation as all eyes in the room fell on them. "So, are we going to watch a movie or what?"

Miroku nodded, distracting the audience to look at him. "Ah, yes! A movie. Let's see, I managed to grab 'House of Wax, Mr. and Mrs. Smith -."

"Let's _not _watch a movie." Ayame interrupted, "I feel like going out."

Inu-Yasha's interest perked up at this, "You mean… to a club?"

Kagome stiffened at the mere thought of it. "Why can't we just sit and watch a movie?"

Sango nodded. "I _agree. _Anyways Inu-Yasha, Kagome's not too fond of clubs. Don't force her into anything."

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth to respond but then closed it again, giving up on the conversation.

As the group talked back and forth, Kagome stared out the window. The view from Ayame's bedroom (she had called it out when she first saw it) clearly showed the night sky. The few stars that could be seen in the highly active city were shining brightly in the blanket of purple and black. As she remembered the docks they had passed, a light turned on in her head. "Let's just head off to the beach."

All heads turned to her. "Beach?"

"There's a beach near here?"

Kagome sighed. "Well, there _has _to be one, doesn't there? I mean – we passed by a few docks. If there's an _island _a few miles away from here, across from the ocean, why wouldn't there be a beach here?"

Inu-Yasha thought for a moment, before speaking up. "There _is _one. A few ways off. It's about a ten minute drive. We _could _check it out. It closes at eleven though. And it's twelve thirty."

Sango nodded slowly. "I like the sound of that. Having a whole beach to ourselves? Not bad."

"But it's _closed._" Ayame pointed out and folded her arms across her chest.

Miroku grinned as his eyes gleamed. "Well, we can always sneak in. It's not like their actually going to _do _anything about it. I mean, we have Inu-Yasha with us. He is like _god_ to the average fan girl."

"_Exactly." _Inu-Yasha flexed his arms and sighed with contempt. "That I am"

Kagome snorted. "Uhuh, sure."

Looking down at her, Inu-Yasha feigned a look of innocence. "_What?" _

"Nothing, nothing." She gave him a sugary smile. "Let's just eat… and then head out."

_x.x_

Kagome shivered as she exited the lavish hotel and into the night. The sound of gravel crunching beneath her feet carried on into the air as she skipped down the cobble stones steps and onto the path. The night air was cool, not as warm as the day but not cold either. She was wearing what she had been wearing that day: a black tank top. She had changed her pants however and had decided upon wearing jeans instead of capris. The group had decided to visit the beach and then afterwards going downtown to see the city lights.

Inu-Yasha was walking ahead of all of them, trying to figure out where the chaperone had parked his car in the outdoor parking lot and Miroku was with him, pressing the 'open car door' button on Inu-Yasha's electronic key, hoping it would give them a signal as to where it was parked. And she, well she was with her two friends, who were excited to no ends.

"This is going to be… _so _much fun." Ayame whispered into Kagome's ear from the left.

Sango nodded. "I mean, a month ago, we were watching Inu-Yasha from the TV screen. And now, we've met him, talked to him alone in a _bathroom_, slept in his house, teased him, hooked him up with you, and now, are going to go _out _with him."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I thought you were _over _the star struck phase."

"Well, we are." Sango said as she put a finger to her chin. "But… still, if we think back to how we used to stalk his limo. It sends us the chills."

"So true." Ayame sighed. "Damn, those were the days... well, apparently, _these _are the days but those were the days too – you know what I mean?"

Kagome laughed. "Thank _god _you two don't _scream _for him anymore." As the topic proceeded back to Inu-Yasha, Kagome swiftly looked back at him.

If she could get Miroku to walk with Sango or Ayame, then she would _finally _have some alone time with Inu-Yasha.

She nudged her friends. "Hey, listen. Would it be weird if I walked up to Inu-Yasha and just started talking to him?"

Ayame had to hold back a laugh. "Of course not."

"Kagome, you've got to stop being so tense. He doesn't seem half as nervous as you do." Sango whispered low enough to remain out of the males' ears.

"Well, it's kind of hard to do that when a few hours ago I just became Inu-Yasha's _actual _girlfriend. I'm dating a _celebrity. _I mean – that was it. We're _dating _now. I'm still in shock. I mean, I can't go back to acting casual now. We haven't even _talked _about this." Kagome looked around the parking lot briefly before looking back at her friends. "This is the point where you two give me advice."

Ayame put her hand on Kagome's shoulder, and looked Kagome directly in the eye. "Just _go _and talk to him. If Miroku's smart enough, he'll leave. And then… just strike up a conversation about the trees."

"The trees?" Sango remarked dully and pinched Ayame shoulder.

Jerking back her arm to put it by her side, Ayame glared at Sango before softening her gaze at Kagome. "Or something else. Just _go_."

Receiving a gentle push from both Ayame and Sango, Kagome scuttled forward before taking a deep breath and walking quickly to catch up to Inu-Yasha. As she reached him, she reached out and squeezed his elbow, gaining his attention.

"Hey."

"Hi." Kagome piped sweetly, pushing her hands into her pocket. Looking around Inu-Yasha, she caught Miroku's eye. As soon as she did, she gave Miroku a knowing glance.

At once, he caught on. "_Ah. _Oh! I… I think I see the car." He raised the key. "Well, I better test the key out then, eh?" Lifting up his lip in a half smile, he winked at Kagome before he ran off towards the parked cars.

Finally alone, Kagome and Inu-Yasha walked in silence to the car where Miroku could be seen running towards. Trying to ignore the over flowing desire to just lean into him, Kagome gulped as she tried to think up of what she should talk about. Mid-panic-thought, Kagome felt a jolt of shock flow through her as she felt Inu-Yasha's warm hand tug her petite one out of her pocket and envelope it in his.

Smiling, Kagome looked up at him and tightened her grip on his hand.

He finally broke the silence. "So, what's up?"

She shrugged. "Just the usual. I'm living in an expensive hotel, about to sneak into a beach and am talking to my boyfriend."

He laughed, his rich voice soothing her nerves. "It's not half bad."

Kagome silently thanked her friends. This wasn't so bad after all. "You know, I _actually _like this place. I mean…" she froze as she suddenly forgot what she had been supposed to say. "… the _trees. _I mean, if you listen to them, they're so soothing, right?" Forget the thanks. She was going to kill them.

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "I know _exactly _what you're talking about."

Kagome hung her head in defeat as she heard the sarcasm in his voice. Laughing, she shook her head. "Okay, I give up."

Inu-Yasha sent her a confused glance. "Give up on what?"

Kagome pulled her hand out of his grasp and flung them up in the air with frustration. "I have no idea how to act like your girlfriend. I mean, for gods sake – I've only been out on three dates in my _entire _life." Kagome stopped walking and turned towards him, "And I hate to admit it, but you've been the _only _guy I've kissed – apart form Kouga who doesn't count as experience because he was drunk. I mean, I'm no _good _at this. I don't have the _experience _you do… and I _hate _all your ex-girlfriends but I know that they're still going to try to win you back even if I'm standing right there, and compared to them – I look like an uncultured klutz. And I -." She stopped as she saw the concern and concentration on Inu-Yasha's face break into comical grin. "What's so funny?"

He kneeled and held onto his knees as he started to laugh. "It's just- ." He began laughing again, oblivious to the change in Kagome's mood. "You -."

"See! You can't even take _this _seriously." Pouting, Kagome folded her arms across her chest and looked away as Inu-Yasha leaned back up.

Trying to hold back his laughter, Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Oh _come _on."

"I'm telling you something here, and you're laughing your ass off." Kagome whined and ignored Ayame and Sango's snicker as they passed them quickly.

His eyes gleaming with mischief, he grinned at her. "But you looked so damn cute."

Feeling a blush creep onto her face, Kagome rolled her eyes and tried to calm her heart. "Whatever."

"You _did." _Inu-Yasha smirked, and pulled her closer by the waist. "And I get what you were saying."

"You do?" Kagome asked quietly as she shyly looked back at up him, distantly feeling his hands soothingly massaging her lower back.

He nodded his head with a thoughtful expression. "And you wouldn't look like an uncultured klutz but more like a… cute uncultured klutz."

Kagome scoffed and tried to pull back but he restrained her by his firm grip on her waist.

"_And… _the fact that you've never kissed a guy apart from _me _doesn't bother me a _bit_," He said with a cocky glint in his eyes.

Just as Kagome was about to reply, a shout was heard from afar.

"I FOUND THE CAR!"

Miroku waved violently at them and then pointed towards the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. "WE'LL BE WAITING!"

Kagome giggled as the shouts of their three friends could be heard as they piled into the silver car. And then, out of no where, the break lights blinked on and the radio blasted through the calm night air.

Inu-Yasha stiffened. "Oh, he better not be messing with the controls."

Kagome tugged his shirt, making him look back at her. "Forget them. As I was about to say, I just don't want this to be… _weird._"

"It won't be. It'll take getting used to, but that's it." Inu-Yasha said, leaning in slowly for a kiss.

"And," she talked before he could kiss her. "I don't want to be like those couples that make out in front of _everybody _or call each other snookums or monkey boo and stuff."

He chuckled, "Yes ma'am."

"And _just _because I happen to be your girlfriend doesn't mean I'm not going to yell at you whenever I find you being a jerk, annoying, rude, or stupid." Kagome said as she moved her hands up his chest and locked them behind his neck.

"I'll _try _to be a little more civil then, if that's what you want." He pulled her close again when she grinned. "Now that that's settled, can I kiss you?"

"Mmmhm." Kagome answered as Inu-Yasha leaned in and pressed his lips firmly against hers. Leaning forward on her toes to adjust to his height better, she let her eyes flutter shut as she moved her lips against his.

A hot flash brightened the night around them and at once, Kagome and Inu-Yasha parted. Looking to their side, two photographers stood with cameras positioned directly in front of them to get the perfect view.

Inu-Yasha groaned. "Bullshit." Taking Kagome by the arm, he turned her around and headed quickly for the car, ignoring the requests of the photographers.

"If we could have one more pose, sir -."

They were abruptly silenced as security guards came, pulling them away

They were abruptly silenced as buff security guards came, pulling them away from the scene. "This property is off limits. Can I ask you two to please come with -."

"Let us take _one _more!" Another hot flash burned the air as the camera men struggled to take good shots. Just as the second cameraman was raising his finger to take one last shot, the security guards took a hold of his arms and jerked him back. "Aw man, _come on._"

"Sir, please be amenable and let us escort you off the grounds." It was more of a demand than a cordial statement. As they tried to protest, a cry was heard as the two photographers were roughly turned around led towards the gates.

Kagome snuck a peek behind her shoulder as she saw the guard drag the two photographers away from them. Shaken, she turned back around and gulped. "Well, that was shocking."

Inu-Yasha fumed, and dug his hands into his jean pockets. "Let's just get to the car."

_x.x_

Sango took in a deep breath of cool air as she lowered the car window. They were driving past the downtown lights, and the lights past midnight were beautiful. The stores were crowded with teenagers and clubs and restaurants were packed. They were nearing the busy streets of Demon Wood when Inu-Yasha curved and drove down Fifth Avenue and down a quiet neighbor hood. The glow of the street lights shone down on them as Miroku tried to figure out which way the beach was.

"Make a left at the next turn." Miroku said as he tried to figure out the directions on the electronic car map.

"That's the fifth time you've said that." Inu-Yasha muttered as he steered the steering wheel to follow his direction.

Kagome sighed from the passenger seat of the car. "Don't tell me we're lost."

"We're not lost, just a little off-track." Inu-Yasha retorted, accelerating down the empty neighborhood.

The only ones who talked for the next few minutes were Sango and Ayame as Miroku and Inu-Yasha concentrated on the road. Kagome surfed through Inu-Yasha's cell phone, reading the different contacts stored in it. Mid-way through her exploration, the cell phone lit up and a shrill rang rung throughout the car. Reading the caller ID, she raised an eyebrow as she read _'Un-Identifiable'_.

"Inu-Yasha… should I pick up?"

Inu-Yasha glanced over at Kagome, "Go ahead."

Clicking the '_receive' _button, she pressed the cool piece of metal to her ear. "Hello?" Staring at her shoe on the car mat, Kagome shifted in her seat as she waited for an answer. "Hellooo?"

Inu-Yasha sighed and took the phone from Kagome, flipping it shut. "I've been getting those kinds of phone calls since last night. Someone calls and all I hear is breathing. I've got to change my number."

Kagome felt a chill run down her spine. "That's freaky."

"It could be anyone. Probably prank calls. Don't think too much into it." Giving her a comforting wink, he pocketed his cell phone before turning back to Miroku to gather a new set of directions.

They were just turning the car around when Sango started to tap her feet against the back of Inu-Yasha's seat. "Pull over to a gas station. I need to go to the bathroom."

Miroku groaned. "Sango, can't you see we're lost?"

"Just head back downtown… we can ask someone for directions." Sango whimpered and clamped her legs together.

"We don't need to ask anyone for directions. I think we've got the way figured out this time." Miroku patted Sango's leg and then turned back to Inu-Yasha. "Just keep -."

"Just pull over! There's probably a gas station nearby."

Her whine was unheard as Inu-Yasha's cell phone rang again.

Lolling her head back, Sango rolled her eyes as Inu-Yasha attended the ring. Staring out the window, she watched with boredom as they passed numerous mansions.

Sango lolled her head back, zoning out to look at the passing scenery. The mansions were huge, most of them hidden behind the safety of the lavish trees. They were approaching another intersection when a glimmer of blue caught her eye. Straightening at once, she grabbed Miroku's arm to catch his attention. "Turn right!"

"Huh?" Miroku looked over at her. "The map clearly states -."

"I can _see _the beach off to the right, idiot!" Sango pointed out from the window, immediately causing Inu-Yasha to jerk the car to the right.

"Miroku, remind me to never take you along to any of my trips." Inu-Yasha drawled out from the front, speeding the car faster.

Kagome breathed out a sigh of relief, pushing a few of her tresses behind her ear. Unbuckling her seat belt as the warm sand of the beach came in view; she sat up straight, anxious to get out. Suddenly, she remembered the phone call Inu-Yasha had just received. "Inu-Yasha, who was it on the phone?"

Inu-Yasha clicked his tongue as he drove past the railings bordering the beach. "The same asshole who's been calling all day."

"Do you think…" Kagome trailed off, stopping herself. There was no possible way it could have been Naraku. He was in jail, on a restraining order and was being watched twenty four seven. Feeling Inu-Yasha's eyes upon her, waiting for her to continue, she shook her head. "Never mind."

He eyes her, shrugging it off after a moment. Slowing down the car as he approached the parking spaces, he pulled the car into the shade of two trees. Pressing the brakes, he parked the car and pocketed the keys. "Well, let's head out then."

It was if everyone let out a unanimous sigh of relief. Pushing open the door, Kagome stepped out into the cool night air. Stretching her lithe frame, she couldn't help but smile as she saw the beach.

The moonlit ocean seemed to sparkle under the moon, and the receding waves were lapping upon the shore. The sand stretched for miles, each grain gold and pure as the next. The air was silent, and the stars above eclipsed the entire night with beauty.

"Wow." Ayame breathed from behind Kagome.

Simply nodding, Kagome was suddenly jerked out of her daze as Sango shook her arm. "As disgusting as it sounds, I'm going to find a place to pee."

Kagome and Ayame laughed.

"Have _fun._" Ayame laughed, shaking her head as Sango walked back.

Miroku walked to the railings, jumping them to reach the other side. "Well?" He said to the remaining group. "You guys coming or not?"

Inu-Yasha grinned at Kagome, "I'll race you."

Placing her hips, she raised an eyebrow. "You don't think you'll beat me do you? I did after all achieve first place in our school track and field."

"Well, beating you will be just a whole lot sweeter then, wont it?"

Gaping at him, Kagome scoffed. "Fine, first one in the water wins."

_x.x_

An hour later, Kagome laughed as she snatched Inu-Yasha's cap off from his head. They were soaked from their dip in the ocean, and sand stuck to their legs as they played childishly on the sand. Sango had come back half an hour later and was helping Ayame in giving Miroku – swimming lessons.

As for Kagome and Inu-Yasha, they had drifted off away from the group, deciding a little game of tag wouldn't hurt.

Squealing as Inu-Yasha ran after her, Kagome ran up the sand towards the railings, jumping them so she could use the car as a barrier. Running towards it, she yelled as she saw how dangerously close Inu-Yasha was to her.

Inu-Yasha laughed as he caught on to her arms. Pulling her back, he moved his hands down the soft, fair texture of her arms and grasped her wrists. "I've got you now." He said, and pulled her further back towards him.

Kagome held back a laugh as he pulled her wrists behind her back, disallowing her to move. "Well," She smiled, "What're you going to do?"

He feigned a look of thought. "It depends. You could give it back and I could let you go or…"

"Or what?" Kagome asked playfully, craning her neck upwards just in time to see him smirk.

"Well…" Inu-Yasha leaned his head down and brought his lips dangerously close to her neck. "You'll just have to see." Stepping closer so her back was pulled against his chest, he dipped his head and gave her neck a playful lick. Grinning as he felt a shiver run down her spine, he pressed his lips down to leave hot kisses up the crook of her neck.

Kagome took in a sharp intake of breath as the sensation of his tongue against her skin, most especially her neck, coupled with his breathing that slowly became more labored made her blood throb and her heart race. Unconsciously trying to find away to release her wrists from his tight hold so she could respond, she arched her neck upwards to allow more leeway for his lips.

"Mm, you smell good." He murmured in between open mouthed kisses. He was stunned at the overflowing emotions in himself. His mind swam with a myriad of thoughts, his consciousness nearly disbelieving the fact that this girl was actually _his. _ No longer did he have to stress, and worry about how she felt on what had happened in the past. It hit him like a ton of bricks. She had forgiven him and she wantedhim.

Loosening his grip on her wrists, he turned her around and pressed her up against the car. Immediately, Kagome's petit hands grasped his shirt and tugged him closer. Crushing her lips beneath his own, Inu-Yasha groaned at the intensity.

For an instant, all of Kagome's senses seemed to collide. Dazzled by the feel of his hard body pressed up against hers, she opened her mouth tentatively instantly when she felt his lips trace her tongue. Inu-Yasha's tongue surged between them.

Already week in the knees, a wave of heat washed across Kagome as Inu-Yasha titled her head back to deepen the kiss. Sensitive to the sensations that were surging throughout her, she kissed him back, vehemently sensing the tug at her heart.

Kagome felt his hand move up her back when; suddenly a thought occurred to her. Pushing against him, she cut the kiss short and tried to speak despite her labored breathing. "We're in the public."

Inu-Yasha frowned at the sudden loss of touch, and pressed his forehead against hers. "No ones around."

Kagome drew in a shaky breath. "Let's not forget, you're not exactly what we would call an average nineteen year old. For all we know, someone could be taking hundreds of pictures of us, hm?"

Inu-Yasha thought about this for a second, swiftly sweeping his eyes over their surrounding area. "Seems isolated enough to me."

Kagome let out a smile at his persistence. "Just -."

A shrill ring tone ran through the air, surprising them both at once. Jerking apart, Inu-Yasha swore as he realized it was his cell phone. Glancing at Kagome with a look that sent a solemn apology, he reached into his pocket and flipped open his cell phone. "Whoever this is, would you -."

"_Inu-Yasha?" _

Inu-Yasha stilled for a moment, recognizing the voice. "Karira?"

"_Did I interrupt something?" _

Inu-Yasha looked at Kagome, completely dumbfounded. "Uh… hold on." Pulling the cell phone away from his ear, he whispered. "It's my sister… and she doesn't - _know._"

Kagome widened her eyes, realizing the predicament. "I completely _forgot _about telling her!" Biting her upper lip as Inu-Yasha grimaced; she put a hand to her forehead. How the hell were their families going to react when they heard that their two children were… _dating? _

Inu-Yasha pressed the phone to his ear again. "I'm back, and no, you didn't interrupt much."

"_Well, don't so pissed off next time you answer. Anyway, Souta fell sick. Caught the cold. We're heading home tomorrow morning. Any chance you'll be back sooner?" _

He felt his spirits dampen. "Not sure. I'll see."

"_It'll be nice if you could. I don't want to be alone back home. So try to cut your vacation short, alright?" _

He sighed. "Sure, Karira."

_x.x_

The sun was shining brightly through the windows and the liveliness of the hotel was obvious from the hotel activities bustling on outside. The curtains were flapping, the wind breezing a little more as the window panes had been opened widely to invite the morning light.

Kagome looked at her half packed bag, which rested upon a richly decorated bed. Last night had ended quickly. They had gathered the group and had gone back to the hotel to catch a few hours of sleep.

Of course, hearing that her brother caught the cold was enough to convince Kagome to head back earlier. So here she was, folding a red shirt and tucking it in the bag.

It was only seven thirty and they had planned to spend two hours in the hotel spa before they headed back to the villa at ten.

Folding her last shirt, she zipped up her bag pack and put it on the ground, heading to the washroom to change for the day.

If only she knew then what news was in store for her when she got back to the villa.

_x.x_

**Somewhat of a short chapter. Well… it's always calm before the storm. I've been anxious to write the next chapter for a _while. _So, you can expect a quick update from me in the next few weeks! Review and tell me what you thought of it!**


	26. An Extremity

**Gosh, I'm ashamed to admit it but I took a break, and a long one at that. If you've noticed – it lasted more than three, four months and I'm dreadfully, honestly sorry. But it's summer again and no more _work. _I _know _it's probably the lamest excuse and I've given it a hundred times but that, I solemnly swear, is the truth. I hope you can forgive me! If you've forgotten what's happened so far, I'll give you a recap. Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Sango, Ayame and Miroku were off on their own little vacation and were having fun at that too. _Officially, _and this time honestly – Inu-Yasha and Kagome got together, but couldn't escape without the tabloids snapping a few pictures of them together. They didn't bother with it though and had fun romancing each other when a call from Karira ran in, alerting them that Souta fell ill and they were back at the Villa. Of course now the gang has to go back to the Villa too and a bit a of shocker is in store for Kagome, if only she knew.**

………………

**Chapter Twenty Six**

**An Extremity **

………………

Kagome couldn't help but let a sense of dread fill her as Inu-Yasha drove through the tall black gates of his Villa. Had her parents seen any of the paparazzi shots? Had they watched some celebrity gossip TV show and heard some news? She groaned and let her head rest on the chair. It was only nine in the morning and her family were already home, as she could see Sesshomaru's car parked outside the basement gates.

As Inu-Yasha drove past his brother's car and into the basement, her mind went adrift to her younger brother. She really _did _hope he was all right. Halfway through the drive back home, she'd freaked out and thought that maybe… that maybe Naraku had broken out of jail and had slipped something in her brother's drink. But then again, that was impossible. Breaking out of jails these days, especially in Demon Wood was near damn right impossible. She had called home to check anyway, and had been reassured when Souta talked back over the receiver and confirmed that nothing major was developing.

Inu-Yasha's sleek car reversed into a parking slot and the engine revved into silence. As everyone exited, Kagome eased the feeling of uneasiness to the back of her mind. The pondering question was in her head again. Had they seen the tabloids?

They entered the Villa from the basement doors and the group split up almost immediately. Miroku, who had no particular interest in meeting Inu-Yasha's family, bothered himself with a phone call. Ayame rushed to the bathroom urgently and Sango, Kagome and Inu-Yasha made their way across the hallway towards the dining room where (if anyone had been paying attention to time), the family would be gathered enjoying breakfast.

As they entered, their suspicions were correct. Kagome's parents were engrossed in a talk, and subsided when they saw the three walk in. Sesshomaru was missing, but Karira and both the mother and father of Inu-Yasha were seated.

Karira squealed as her eyes locked with Kagome's. Pushing back her chair, she literally ran into Kagome for a fierce hug. "Icantbeleiveit."

"What?"

She grinned and pulled back. "We'll talk later."

Kagome smiled anyway and hugged Karira as Inu-Yasha and Sango walked towards the table where the group was welcoming them in. "How was your trip?"

She pulled back again and then put on a thoughtful smile. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Met _really _– really cute guys but… they were all gold diggers," She sighed, "Well – what can you do?"

Kagome frowned but curiosity reigned over all as she saw a twinkle in her eyes. "Ok. What is it?"

She sighed, "Didn't I say we'll talk about it later?"

"I want to know now."

"Kagome, you're _parents _are waiting for you." She pulled Kagome back to the table and they both took a seat, welcoming the meal in front of them.

Her dad over his coffee mug, "How was your stay in a hotel _just_ a few miles from here?"

Guilt washed over her. "I swear it wasn't on purpose."

Mrs. Higurashi rubbed her husbands shoulder, and waved the matter off. "It's alright, we all had a lovely time. Well, we were just discussing something with your parents, Inu-Yasha but we can talk about that later, can't we? Tell us all about it."

Kagome watched Inu-Yasha squirm and their eyes met. Gosh, they _had_ seen the tabloids hadn't they?

Inu-Yasha cleared his throat. "Nothing you'd care about."

"How's Souta?" Kagome asked, changing the topic swiftly.

"Diarrhea." Karira stated bluntly. "It's not really the cold. Mild Food poisoning."

Kagome let out a pitiful _aw. _"I should go see him."

Inu-Yasha nodded. "I'll join you."

Mr. Taisho raised a hand before either could get up. "Feel free to visit him, Kagome – just come back after a while alright? There's a matter we'd like to discuss with you."

Kagome blinked twice as she comprehended this. It had only been minutes after they had entered the Villa and there were _matters _to discuss? She nodded slowly, her eyes glazed with confusion. Turning to walk out of the dining room with Inu-Yasha, they closed the double doors behind them. She raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Meh."

She rolled her eyes. "Something's up, but what? This is too weird. We just got _back._" Rubbing her temples, she released a long sigh. "Inu-Yasha, I don't like the way your mom was all sullen."

He looked back at her as they walked up the steps. "Don't worry about itThey're probably talking about financial matters."

Kagome nodded but only half-heartedly agreed. Inu-Yasha walked on in front of her, but she stopped on the top step. "Listen, Inu-Yasha. Check on my brother for me, will you? I'm going to head downstairs and just see what this is all about."

He heaved a long sigh and pouted. "But it's probably nothing. Just come with _me_. Figure out what they've got on their minds _later._"

She smiled at him. "Gosh, you can be so stubborn sometimes. It'll only take a minute and give me ten minutes to _accompany _you and Souta, alright?"

He walked back to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Fine."

Giving him a dazzling smile, she turned around and skipped down the remaining steps. If she knew anyone better than herself, it was her mother and that woman, whether she _tried _or not – couldn't keep a damn secret from her when she wanted. Coming back to the dining room doors, she knocked on it to alert her presence and then walked in, earning the groups attention.

Mr. Taisho leaned back in his chair. "Well, that was fast."

"Well, after telling me there were some _matters _to discuss, I couldn't wait to hear this any longer." Sitting down beside Inu-Yasha's father, Kagome offered a small smile. "So what's this about?"

Inu-Yasha's mother pushed a bowl of grapes towards Kagome. "Have you had anything to eat, dear?"

She accepted the fruits graciously, whatever to keep the pace moving. "_So…_"

"Kagome, remember when I said we'd be going to New York?"

She nodded. "Well, yeah, that's not for another week, isn't it?"

Her mother shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "The head manager of _Kellen & Co. _– he called me thismorning and said a deal with another designer fell out recently and he has space in his schedule to begin working with my – I mean, our line immediately. He wants us there tomorrow."

A grape she had been chewing on stilled in her mouth. A sudden sense of panic filled her. Her mind went blank. "Huh?"

Her father immediately began talking. "Now, I know it's sudden and… and I don't really know what relationship you've got going on with Inu-Yasha -."

Anger rushed in and pooled in the pit of her stomach. They wanted her to _move _to New York with them _tomorrow? _What happened to her friends… or Inu-Yasha? Oh god, she hadn't even told him about her plans to move yet. "I _think _I'm in love with him, dad."

A silence spread over the table and Inu-Yasha's father eyes flitted to her immediately. "What?"

Kagome didn't have a chance to talk. Her dad was already shaking his head. "Kagome, please don't say anything as _ridiculous _like that. Regardless of those _pictures _we saw in that magazine, please remember that the relationship between you two was meant to be an _act. _Anyway, your mom said you were okay with moving a few days ago."

Tears were already forming in her eyes but she held them back and widened her eyes, desperate to forbid them to fall. "That was a few daysago. Things can change in a few days."

Kagome's mother raised an eyebrow. "Wait. Are you saying you're not even going to go to New York with us?"

She fought to find the right words. "I want to _go. _Just not _now _– not all of a sudden, for gods sake, I just got together with _him._"

"With who?"

Kagome took a deep breath and turned towards Mrs. Taisho. Hadn't she been _listening _to any of this? "With your son!"

She smiled. "Kagome, what's gotten into you? A week ago, you hated him."

"I didn't _hate _him a week ago."

"Kagome, this wasn't the reaction I expected."

Her foot was tapping against the floor now. "Mom… I didn't even tell him I was going to go in a week, I just can't go in a _day _now."

"Who's _him?" _

She looked desperately at Inu-Yasha's mother again. "Your _son!_"

She waved it off with her hand. "He won't mind, honey."

Yes he would. He'd think she was running away from the relationship or something, she was sure of it. For god's sake, she had forgotten she was even going to go to New York in a week, what had she done making amends with Inu-Yasha? "I don't know how to _explain _-."

"Kagome, please. Your mother and I are leaving for New York in the morning, Souta is staying here -."

"Why can't I stay here?" She propped up, clinging onto any strings of hope. She didn't care how stupid she sounded to Inu-Yasha's parents but she couldn't leave _tomorrow. _Who knew when she'd come back?

Her mother face crumpled with a frown. "I – I just thought you wanted to help me."

"_Kagome._" Her father folded his arms across his chest. "Think about this logically. After summer is over, you'll head back home, you've already finished school, what are you going to do? If you go to New York, you'll have a _job." _

"I can get a job -." 

"A _career._"

She looked hopelessly at her father and the tears she had fought back came rushing to her eyes. "I don't have a say in this, do I?"

"Don't look so upset, honey. If this is about seeing _Inu-Yasha _– he'll come and visit. Karira will come too with Sesshomaru and Rin." Kagome's mother smiled again at her and then reached across the table to hold her hand. "Sango and Ayame, they're welcome any time too."

She looked at her lap. She _hated _crying but one tear had already slipped down her cheek. "New York is miles away from here."

"Good friends stay good friends no matter the distance between them, sweetie."

_**x.x **_

"And then, I swear – the car literally smashed the other one into a _pulp _with its wheels. You should've seen it." Miroku finished his story off with a hand gesture and smiled at the group. "It was wicked."

Sango rolled her eyes from behind him. "I'm sure we wont miss it next time."

They were sitting in the garden, beside the new pool that had been built outside. The blue sky above was crowded with new puffy clouds, a warning that a shower was about to come but none of them cared. It was cool outside and the pool water was _warm _so that was all that mattered. Kagome was lying down beside Inu-Yasha on an inflatable pool chair and had her lips tightly sealed. She had absolutely no idea as to how she should break the news. Ayame was in the water, idly swimming to and fro in an attempt to shed a few 'pounds'.

Inu-Yasha yawned loudly from his place and pulled Kagome closer. "I think I'm going to go take a nap. Join me?" He smirked as she smacked him on the belly.

"I'll pass, thanks."

Ayame came to a rest at the edge of the pool, her chest heaving in her exhaustion. "I still can't believe it when I see you two together."

"Pfft. I saw it coming a mile away." Sango grinned at them from her spot on the grass. "Completely inevitable."

Inu-Yasha grinned from his place and then shifted to make himself more comfortable. "Kagome, you're all cuddled up right?"

She nodded. "Mmhm."

Smirking, Inu-Yasha leapt off the inflatable pool chair and into the water, misbalancing the float.

Screaming as Kagome suddenly rolled off and found herself submerged in water, it took her a moment to regain from the shock and come surfacing at the top. She sputtered out water and then glared at Inu-Yasha who was already trying to swim away. "I'll get _you _for that."

An hour later, the group was huddled around in a circle. Kagome had just pulled herself out of the pool and had literally just plopped down on a mat, too lazy to properly dry herself.

After a long silence, Sango sighed, "I can't believe its university for me now."

"_Ugh._" Ayame drawled out and stared at Sango, "I wished it ended at high school."

Inu-Yasha took a long sip of his raspberry lemonade before joining in on the conversation. "I've never taken a step inside a class room and don't want to."

"You were home schooled Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked, looking up at him from her place on the mat. "I didn't know that."

He nodded. "My mom taught Karira and I but Sesshomaru had his own tutor. He thought that our company was frustrating while he had to focus on his studies."

Miroku grinned at Inu-Yasha and raised his cup in salute. "I was home schooled too, my friend."

"Home schooling must suck." Ayame said quietly, "I mean, don't you feel lonely without any friends around?"

"I had neighbors, and cousins who were around a ton." Miroku smirked, "And I turned out alright didn't I?"

Sango snorted, "If not a little _weird…" _

Inu-Yasha laughed, "Actually, I wouldn't want to go to a regular public school. I heard it's too much stress."

Kagome sat up, "I _liked _high school."

"Same here, except… grade ten, when Mr. Jakenhawl threw me out of class for talking back… that was embarrassing." Sango blushed at the memory. "Ayame, remember that?"

Ayame laughed, but Miroku gaped at Sango, "I can't imagine you disobeying anyone."

"What do you mean by that?" Sango raised a perfect an arch for an eyebrow. "I can get defensive when I need to."

Miroku raised up his hand, "Don't worry, I can see that. Ha, I actually went through… I don't know, ten – fifteen tutors?"

"Gosh, Miroku. If you'd been a student of my _mom_, you'd have stayed rooted right to your seat. You don't know how strict she was. All a tutor can do is give you bad grades, or complain. My mother, would ground me, take my allowance away or give me house chores if I didn't listen to her. It was hell at times." Inu-Yasha looked at Kagome, "I take it back, public school doesn't sound so bad to me right now."

"Imagine that, Inu-Yasha Taisho walking down the halls of Jardeson High." Kagome laughed, "I could just think of all the trouble you'd make, Inu-Yasha."

He grinned, "I'd be like one of those jocks."

Ayame cut in before Sango could speak, "If you're getting that from some T.V. show, let me tell you something – high school is so overrated in media these days."

Kagome groaned, "I psyched myself up for the prom so much, after watching _all _those movies about how utterly romantic it was - the most important time of your life, apparently. Gosh, my prom sucked."

Inu-Yasha nudged Kagome discreetly. "Did you go with anyone?"

Kagome took a tip of her lemonade before talking, "Yeah, I went with Hojo. It was so hot in the gymnasium, I fainted halfway through and he had to take me to the hospital," She sighed, "Some night _that _was."

Inu-Yasha laughed, "Wow."

"Shut up, I fainted knowing that I was off to this Villa in summer."

"Liar. You didn't know you were coming until the last minute."

"Oh, shush." Kagome smirked at Inu-Yasha and then turned suddenly craned her head towards the Villa as she heard someone call her name. Karira stood at the side door, waving at her.

"Kagome. Come back in, I'll help you pa-."

"I'm coming." Kagome scrambled up, her heart beating furiously at what Karira had been about to say. Ignoring the look of suspicion from her two girl friends, Kagome excused herself from the group and ran towards Karira, meeting her inside the Villa. "Gosh, don't tell anyone that I'm packing."

Karira frowned as she opened a bag of chips. "Don't tell me you haven't told anyone."

Kagome shook her head, "I have… Sango knows and I told Ayame. Inu-Yasha doesn't know and neither does Miroku. I don't want them knowing, not until I leave anyway."

"Oh, _come _on." Karira trailed behind Kagome as she walked up the staircase to her room, "Why not?"

"Inu-Yasha will take it personally, I'm sure of it." Kagome walked into her room and her heart dropped to her stomach as she saw empty suitcases zipped open, her clothes scattered across the bed. She had tried to pack after she had visited Souta but her heart wasn't in it. "And what's the use of telling Miroku? He'll go and tell Inu-Yasha."

Karira moaned from behind her. "Kagome, Sango called me from the hotel and told me that you and Inu-Yasha _actually _got together… and if it's true, I'm a hundred percent certain that if you tell my brother at the last _minute _you're leaving, he'll take it more personally then he would if you would just tell him _now._"

Grabbing a pink T-Shirt from the bed, she folded it and placed it in her suitcase. "Will you just help me pack?"

_**x.x **_

Kagome eyed the digital clock: Three Thirty A.M. Damn, the packing was taking longer than she'd expected it would. Taking those two-dozen or something breaks sounded like a dumb idea right about now.

Zipping up her panties in a separate bag, she stuffed the large pouch in the side of her suitcase and then leaned back. T-Shirts, Tank Tops, Sleeveless Tops, Spaghetti Strapped Tops, Blouses, Bras, Underwear, Pants, Skirts, Shorts, Jeans, Pajamas, Swimsuits, Toothbrushes, Soap, Ipod, Socks, Shoes, New Dresses, Jewelry, Headbands, Ponytails, Make up, the cell phone she never used, her stuffed Teddy, Photo Album, Gifts from the Taisho Family, New Sandals… was she missing anything?

"Of course." Rushing over to the dressing table, she picked up the bracelet Inu-Yasha had given her and snapped it shut inside its velvet case. She couldn't forget _that. _Walking back to her suitcase, she pushed it inside the side and then stared at it. Why did it look twice as full as it did when she left _for _the Taisho Villa? Leaning over to zip it shut, she jumped a little as someone knocked on her door. "_Come in._"

"Thought I heard some movement in here. Kagome, what're you doing up so late?"

Kagome froze at the sound of his voice. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. "Inu-Yasha?" Turning around, her heart thudded against her chest as she saw him leaning against the wall. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I wasn't tired. Why do you have your suitcase open?"

Kagome stared at him blankly. "I… was packing."

He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her, "But you don't leave for another month."

She struggled for words as he walked past her and looked down in her suitcase. "I-."

"You're entire wardrobe must be in here." He picked up her pink and blue pajamas. "What's going on?"

She took the clothing out of his hands and stuffed it back in her suitcase. Avoiding his gaze, she began to zip it up and cursed as it got stuck midway through. Eventually, the zipper gave way and she closed the entire zip. Looking back up at him, she patted her thighs as a distraction. "Listen, stuff came up and I'm leaving sooner than I thought I was. Okay?"

He raised an eyebrow, "How soon?"

Gosh, he looked so damn fine in his pajamas, Kagome thought as she looked up at him. Shaking the thought out of her head, she looked away from his eyes and at the door, realizing it was open. "Tomorrow." She muttered quietly as she went to close it.

The shock that passed through him was audible. "_What?_"

Shutting the door, she turned to him again. At least he wasn't staring her down now. "I said tomorrow. And we're going to New York."

He looked at her, disbelief in his eyes. "Just for summer right?"

Gosh, she didn't know what to say. Shaking her head with a shrug, she swallowed spit before talking. "No, we're moving there."

It seemed he stared at her for an_ eternity _before speaking. "I can't believe this."

"I didn't _know _until this morning, alright?"

He scoffed, "Sure you didn't."

She glanced back at him, startled, "What?"

"You acted like nothing was going on when were out at the pool, or eating lunch, or dinner – or even before that -."

"I didn't know how to tell you, I mean, I thought you'd take it the wrong way. I thought you'd think I was running away from you or something!" She heard her voice rise as he laughed.

"Gosh, I've been so dumb. I get what you're doing. This is revenge or something isn't it? You set me up and then just when I think I've actually got something going on with you, you're gonna run and leave me high and dry, aren't you?"

She gaped at him, "You think I_ planned _this? Inu-Yasha, I didn't know that my mother even had a plan of going to New York until two days ago and I didn't know we were going to go so suddenly. And if you remember, two days ago, we weren't really on the best of terms."

"Kagome, cut the crap, okay? Were you even planning on telling me this?"

"I -." She shrugged and let out a desperate sigh. "I don't know!"

"You were planning on just _leaving _without saying a word? God, do you even _know _how far New York is from here?" He kept shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it. "It's the perfect plan, you would leave and I wouldn't be able to see you, or meet you, I wouldn't have your phone number-."

"I wasn't going to cut you off, Inu-Yasha!"

"It sure seems like you were."

Her stomach was knotting up inside of her. This was moving to fast. Oh, god, they were fighting again. "Listen, I swear I had no _say _in this. My mother asked me to –."

"But _New York? _I don't even know what to be mad about: the fact you're moving miles away from here or the fact you weren't going to tell me about it." His glare shook her to her core.

She groaned, "Inu-Yasha, It's not like I was going to stay in your villa for the _rest _of my life."

"But your real home is just a few hours away from here, that wouldn't have been half as bad. But _no, _you had to get some job in New York so you'd be _sure _that there wasn't a chance you'd see me again."

Kagome bit her bottom lip in frustration, "You're stretching this completely out of proportion – I can't believe you'd think I'd do that!"

"It's kind of obvious, Kagome. Just _when _were you planning on telling me-"

"I've said it a dozen times, _Inu-Yasha, _I would've told you!"

Someone banged on Kagome's door. It opened a crack and Sesshomaru peeked in, "Listen, I just got back and I'm really tired right now – I can hear you upstairs. So… can you… please… just, shut up?"

Kagome looked at Inu-Yasha, who had tightened his jaw at the interruption. He gave her a hard glare before walking towards the door. "Have fun, Kagome."

With that, he walked out the door and almost banged it shut.

Shaken with what had just happened, Kagome sunk against the wall to the floor and stared at the carpeted floor.

_**x.x **_

"And I put cookies in your hand bag, okay Kagome?" Mrs. Taisho pulled the girl in a fierce hug and then withdrew, looking at her admiringly. "You're so grown up. I hope this move goes well with your family, alright?" Once again, she was pulled in a tight hug and this time, Mrs. Taisho patted the bag slung over her shoulder, "Promise me you'll eat them if you get hungry in the plane."

Kagome forced a laugh, "I promise."

Mr. Taisho patted her on the shoulder and pulled her into a half sided embrace. "I'll miss seeing you around here. You've been quite the pleasure, Kagome."

Blinking away tears, she laughed and hugged him back. "Thanks for having me."

And then, Sango and Ayame pulled her aside, pulling her in a death hug. "Oh, god," She choked out as they squeezed her.

Sango gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be seeing you soon, won't I?"

"Of course. On web-cam or something." She grinned at them as they pushed her away to get a good look at her.

"Ayame, can you believe she's going to be working with her mother at the famous _Kellen & Co._?"

Ayame feigned a thoughtful face, and then broke into a smile. "Yes, Sango – I believe I can."

Laughing, Kagome hugged them again. "I'm going to miss you so bad. Don't have too much fun without me at university."

"That would be impossible." Ayame and Sango said, almost in unison. As they let her go, Karira came beside her and hugged her and she welcomed it warmly.

"Inu-Yasha's not here." She said quietly so no one would hear.

Kagome laughed despite the urge to cry. "Yeah, I noticed. It's all right. We said our goodbyes last night."

"Sesshomaru told me about it."

Hugging her tighter, she buried her shoulder in her best friends neck as a few tears escaped her eyes. "My gosh, he hates me."

"He'll come to his senses sooner or later. Then he'll come running after you in New York, trust me."

She scoffed. "He has his ego to stop him from doing that, Karira." Pulling away, she wiped away the stray tears and then smiled again, "I'm being so stupid," she took a deep breath, "I'll call you, alright?"

"I'll hang onto that." Karira gave her a friendly punch before Sesshomaru came beside her.

"Kagome, I'm going to propose to her tonight."

Kagome frowned. "I thought you already did?"

"What? Huh? No…" He rolled his eyes and gave her a quick hug. "Well, take care."

"Thanks. And please tell Souta that I'm going to miss him and I cant _wait _until he comes to New York."

Sighing, she took a good look at the group around her. They were standing in the Demon Wood International Airlines Airport, and everyone had gathered to bid their farewells, everyone that is except for Inu-Yasha. Her parents had already gone in for Custom Checkup and she was the only one left to say goodbye. Looking around again, she felt another pang of disappointment when she realized Inu-Yasha wasn't in sight.

"Well, I've got to go." She said loudly and then waved a goodbye. Putting on her best smile, she kept waving goodbye until she had to turn around and to load her luggage onto the carousel.

_**x.x**_

"**Could passengers please tighten their seatbelts and pull their chairs back into upright position. It would be appreciated you pack away any headphones or electronic gear as we head for landing. After the fifty five hour flight, welcome to New York, America." **

Looking outside her small oval shaped window, Kagome stared at the small blinking lights below her. She guiltily welcomed a new found excitement. She couldn't have been more depressed however. She didn't know if she were to blame Inu-Yasha for being a complete, inconsiderate, heartless jerk or herself for being completely spineless. Why _hadn't _she told him about this earlier, anyway? From what she was seeing, she had ended a relationship that had taken fourteen years to build.

"Kagome, fasten your seatbelt."

Kagome jumped out of her train of thought and looked towards her mother, who looked weary as she did from the tiring flight. Clicking her seat belt shut, she leaned back and prepared for landing.

_**x.x**_

**Heelloo again! I think I did a complete 180 there with the story… anyway. This time, I'm going to try to respond to every single review that comes in – hopefully you guys will still send some in! I just figured out the personal message thingy… hehe, took me a while. Aha, and now I've finally decided that Being Backstage WILL end for SURE on Chapter Thirty, just like A Wish Upon A Star. I don't want to drag it on longer than it deserves. **

**Well, now I've got to work on the next chapter. Please review, if you still have the heart to!**

**Until next time, **

**Kealilah!**


	27. Living In The City

**Over here, in Canada – there are only… about 10 episodes of Inu-Yasha left until the series ends. I just saw a trailer for the fifth movie in Japanese. And then that's it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but – it seems like the era of Inu-Yasha is just coming to an end. **

**Credits go to Chad Michael Murray. Thanks for giving me the idea for a perfect proposal.**

………………

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

**Living In The City**

………………

-Two Months Later-

"I don't know what's gotten into him, really. I told him that yellow would just make it look hideous, but _no _– he says he knows what sells and what's in style these days." Mrs. Higurashi rolled out the large piece of fabric across the board and spread out the creases with her fingers. The thin cloth spread out evenly, the silky material dampening across the board. "Kagome, just picture it, our blue evening dress… turned yellow. Oh god, I feel like crying."

Kagome chewed on the stick of celery and absently stared at the sketchbook on her lap. The boss was _right_, whether her mother admitted it or not. Blue would make the dress blend with the crowd, and no one would give it but a mere fleeting glance. Yellow, however – would make the outfit _pop._ She kept her thoughts to herself. Her mother was in too much stress to listen anyway. "You're right, mom."

"I know I am." She heaved out a long sigh and then unrolled her measuring tape, "I guess I'll have to start all over again. Kagome, get the marking pen, would you?"

Kagome unclipped the pen from her sketchbook and headed towards her mom. She was _supposed _to be on her lunch break, and her stomach gurgled to confirm that. But that didn't matter. They were behind schedule, with the deadline looming up and were nowhere near to finished with the clothing line. As she marked the areas where slicing was needed, her mother sat back and looked around the room hopelessly.

"Kagome, would you go get me some iced tea?"

"Sure," She said tonelessly. Dropping the marker, she pushed a few tendrils of stray hair behind her ear and then walked outside. She was walking on the forty seventh-floor of the famous, _world-renowned Kellen and Co. Fashion Business Quarters_. Walking around the corner, she pushed the elevator button and walked in as it dinged open. The Soda Machine was on the forty-fourth floor and she was too lazy to walk down the stairwell. Seeing a familiar face in the compartment, she smiled at somewhat of her co-worker and pressed her desired floor. "What's up, Hakadoushi?"

The blonde boy, roughly around the age of fourteen smiled nervously at Kagome. He'd had a crush on her first time he'd laid eyes on the girl. "I'm okay. My dad's making me run a lot of errands around here."

She frowned. "Not fun?"

"Not at all." He pushed his hands in his pockets and looked at her shyly. "Um, so, what are you doing?"

"I have to get a soda for my mom…" She shrugged as he raised an eyebrow. "She's really busy these days."

"You must be too, then, you look like hell." He blushed immediately, "I mean, you don't look bad but, you know tired – I mean, you still look good, just exhausted." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "It's not a bad thing."

At this, Kagome laughed. "It's okay. I know, I'm really pooped."

"Why don't you take a break?"

"My mom needs this soda."

"How about I get it for you? And I'll tell your mom you went to get some lunch." His eyes widened and he blushed again, "I mean, of course it's your choice and if you don't want to leave for some food, I wont force you. If you want, _I _can get you some lunch as well. Only if you want though, I mean – it's your choice."

As the elevator stopped on her floor, she grinned at him. If _he _could tell her mom that she was out for some lunch, she'd only have to feel half as guilty. At least she wouldn't have to watch her facial reactions that would add to the guilt factor… "That would be great, actually. Thanks. Oh here, a dollar for the vending machine." She flipped him the coin and waved him a goodbye.

She pressed for the lobby and then leaned against the wall. She had approximately twenty minutes to eat and then ten minutes to get back. If she took the back door out of the building, she could possibly avoid any paparazzi.

The thought made her groan. For weeks since she had moved to New York, the paparazzi had tailed her, and pushed microphones to her face. _'Did you and Inu-Yasha break up?' – 'Are you leaving Inu-Yasha?' – 'Did he dump you?' – 'Did you catch him cheating?' – 'We recently caught him embracing super-model, Kathy, did you leave him because he was in an affair?'_

What was he doing with Kathy in the first place? That had set her blood fuming. Was he over her already? Not that they had broken up…

She sighed.

Had they broken up?

She shook her head in denial. They were just on a long break… or something. Weren't they?

Pushing the exit door of the building, she peeked out to make sure there was no camera crew parked in the parking lot before skipping down the four steps. It was roughly around eleven in the morning. And as usual, she could hear the busy crowds of New York City just around the corner. Wrapping the shawl around her tightly, she turned the corner and began to walk down the street. It was fall, and the wind had started acting up lately. Whatever leaves hadn't been blown off the branches had turned a crisp orange already and were on the verge of joining the ones at the foot of the branch.

_**x.x**_

Inu-Yasha stared out of his bedroom window. Outside, the cleaners were pulling out soaked leaves that had drifted into the pool. Nevertheless, whatever was happening outside was at least better than what was happening inside. Mona, who had surreptitiously popped back into his life as soon Kagome had left, was talking on and on about America's Next Top Model, some show he wouldn't think twice about if he came across it. It'd been two months since Kagome had just, left. And two months since he began living life like he had been before Kagome had come back into it. Taking a gulp of his Budweiser, he turned back to stare at Mona who was still rattling on about the show.

"Don't you agree?"

He blinked at her twice before getting up off his chair and leaving the room. God, she was so boring. The days were so dull now that even if a few angels came down to earth and sang to him, it wouldn't be enough to spurt back color into his life.

Mona came running out of the room behind him, her heels clicking on the furnished tiles. "Are you mad at me or something?" Catching up to him, she hugged him from behind, dragging him to a halt in his walk. "Baby, talk to me, won't you?"

Rolling his eyes briefly, he wrenched her arms off from his and turned around to place them on her shoulders. "Listen, just go shop for clothes or something, alright? I need some quiet time to myself." As soon as he had turned around, she latched onto his arm.

"But that's what you've been needing for the past few _weeks_. You're not half as fun as you were before. How about we go shopping _together?_" She pouted up at him, blinking her heavily mascara loaded eyes at him. "We could go to-."

She was (graciously) cut off as the front doors of the Villa banged open and Rin came running in.

"_EVERYONE_! Come down _right _now!"

Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrows in surprise as he watched Rin squirm with excitement, and as she did so, she raised her left hand as Karira came barging in to the main lobby. So his brother _finally _proposed. Turning back to Mona, he shrugged. "Duty calls." Leaving her behind, he trudged down the staircase and joined his family as they had gathered around Rin. When he reached her, she was already re-living the event.

As she talked, her face was flushed pink and her cheeks a rosy hue, "And when I walked out into the balcony, it was the weirdest thing because I could see some light coming from below. So when I leaned over the balcony, it said in, I don't know, probably _hundreds _of candles 'Will You Marry Me?'" She broke into a laugh as Karira joined in to squeal.

"How'd you know it was for you!" Karira said in between a girly giggle.

"Of course I didn't think it was for me, but then _he _came behind me and said, 'well – will you?'"

His mother was already in tears as she said this, and giving a congratulatory smirk to his older brother as he walked through the front doors, he patted Rin on the back before leaving the room. He could always give a proper congrats to her later. She was busy, as it seemed.

Taking out his car keys from his pocket, he headed for the garage. Damn, he needed a drive.

_**x.x**_

Kagome peered out of her subway window in frustration. Her stop should've arrived fifteen minutes ago but from what she was looking at, it had still to come.

Her mother had called when she had snuck out for her lunch break and instead of scolding her, she asked her to pick up some black satin cloth from some store in Madison's Square. So here she was now. She had been sitting and watching for what seemed like ages and no such sign had come up. Flumping back into her chair, she folded magazine she had bought and zipped it inside her purse. The familiar uneasiness had settled into her chest; the same feeling she got when she _knew _she was lost. New York City was large, and this wasn't the first time she had wandered off into unfamiliar territory.

The first time she had wandered, it had only been the second week since her shift. She, as usual had been sent to finish an errand by her mom and when she had boarded the subway for the first time, she had been so overwhelmed with her surroundings; she had missed her stop six times. It had been horrible, the mixture of uneasiness and the anxiety she had felt for leaving Inu-Yasha the way she did had almost given her a panic attack. But she had found her way eventually, even if she ended up coming home hours late.

Staring out into the black tunnels of the Subway Line, she settled back into her plastic chair and let out a deep breathe. Whether it was the right location or not, she was getting off at the next stop.

"Miss, could you loan me twenty dollars?"

Kagome jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking behind her, she felt a weary chill pass through her as a man, probably around the age of forty, grinned at her, his smile showing two broken teeth and red gums. Frowning, she looked back in her bag and came out with a ten-dollar bill. "Here," With that, she turned back in her chair but was disgruntled as he shook her shoulder again.

"Can I have the other ten?"

"I don't have more, sorry." Wrenching herself out of his grasp, she leaned forward so he wouldn't touch her again. Much to her disappointment, he poked her back.

"Miss, can I have some money?"

She let out a long breath. Looking around the sub, she felt a pang of fear swallow her as she realized it was near vacant aside from a few teenagers. It was long past rush hour so that explained the emptiness. Brushing his hand off, she bit her lip as he began to pat her back again.

"Miss, can I have some money? Miss?"

"I said I don't have more -."

"Miss, can you please lend me some more? Miss? Could -."

"Listen, sir, I already gave you ten dollars." Desperation began to cling at her. When was the next stop?

"But miss, can I have some more?"

Foreign lights began to flutter through the sub as it reached the next stop. Looking outside the window, relief washed through her like a wave as she saw a platform and more importantly, _people. _

Getting up before he could touch her again, she held onto the bar as it screeched to a stop and then literally scurried out of the subway. Getting lost in the crowd, she hurried up the stairs and looked around for the nearest information booth. Hearing the departure of the sub below, she felt a small sense of safety as they distance between her and that _man_ increased. She hated being alone in the New York Subs. She was promised to come along some creep at least once a trip. Folding her arms across her chest, she began to walk despite her nerves. What was the worst that could happen? It was one in the afternoon, people were walking about and she was in the public. Repeating that over in her head, she decided she was being stupid.

Walking out into the sunny streets, a new calm settled over her. "Alright, Kagome, forget the scary subways. Lets get this cloth and head back." Taking in a warm breath, she headed towards the bus stop where an elderly lady was reading the New York Times.

"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to Madison's Square?"

The woman, who seemed to have been engrossed in the paper, looked up and peered at her through her spectacles. "Dearie, that's an hour away from here in the _least_."

Kagome's hope plummeted through her. Speechless, she turned around and headed back for the subway. All she'd wanted was a _peaceful _lunch.

**_x.x_ **

Inu-Yasha parked his car outside a random McDonalds and propelled his chair back so he could relax. Originally, he had come to grab a burger, but seeing familiar faces inside the fast food joint, he decided to wait a bit before heading inside. If it hadn't been for Kagome, he wouldn't have touched a morsel that was made from this place. He had been around nine, and she had been babbling on about how _good _some 'happy meal' was. Persistent to know everything she did and more, he had ordered one and since then, whenever she wasn't around to see, he'd grab a meal.

For a split second, he wondered what she was doing. Probably having the time of her life.

He changed his train of thought as soon as the familiar ache in his chest came back to him. Thinking over something that was lost wasn't worth it.

_**Brzpp Brr.**_

Sitting up in his seat, he shuffled out his cell phone at the sound of the familiar ring. "Hello?"

"_Ah, Inu-Yasha, good to hear from you. How're you doing?"_

Inu-Yasha relaxed at the sound of his agent. Fuck. He hated himself for thinking that every other phone call would be _her. _"I'm fine. What do you want?"

"_The shooting of your movie starts this weekend. Don't tell me you've forgotten."_

He snorted to himself. To no-ones surprise, he had. "Where do you need me?"

"_Back home, packing. You'll be gone for four months. Take whatever you'll need." _

He sighed. A part of him didn't want to do this anymore. Each day would be long. Waking up at six in the morning. Rehearsing, shooting, re-shooting, sleep at eleven then repeat. "Listen, I'm not sure -."

"_Don't go there. It's a big budget movie. Sure to be a box office hit. This could mark your place in the industry, Inu-Yasha. You can't drop out now." _

"But I-."

"_Hey, I know you're depressed about your break-up with that Kome chick. It's all over the news. Look at it this way, you'll be able to get your mind off of things if you do this." _

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. His _'break-up' _was all over the news? He muttered a curse under his breath. He hadn't checked a local magazine stand in ages. But of course, why wouldn't it be? They had probably seen her in the states. "Fine… I'll do it."

"_I knew you wouldn't say no. All right then, you're on a Sunday, seven-thirty flight to New York."_

Inu-Yasha swore his heart stopped for a second. "Wait, what'd you say?"

**_x.x_ **

Kagome took a bite out of her McDonalds Cheeseburger. It was four thirty and she was finally back in her mother's office, eating her lunch. As she swiveled in the humungous chair, she somewhat, half-heartedly heard what her mother was talking about. It wasn't important anyway, something about the new series of America's Next Top Model…

"Anyway, so Kagome, why'd you take so long?"

Kagome stopped her swiveling and turned the chair around so she was facing her mother. Putting the burger on the table, she took a sip of her diet coke before talking. "It was horrible. I missed my stop on the subway, and then some guy kept harassing me for money. When I got off, I found out Madison's Square was an hour away. _Then, _when I finally get there, they tell me that the fabric hadn't arrived yet so I had to wait half an hour for _that._"

Kagome graciously accepted her mother's sympathy. Of course, she'd left out the part where she'd come across a magazine stating that the filming of Inu-Yasha's debut movie would be in the states. _Where_ exactly had been kept confidential but knowing he was most likely going to fly over New York with Mona and Kathy on each hand pissed her off.

She was brought out of her muse when the office phone began to ring. Shuffling forward in her seat, she picked it up, the greeting memorized, "Kellen and Co. Fashion Business Quarters, you've reached the office of Mrs. Higurashi, how may I help you?"

"_Kagome is that really you?" _

Kagome sat up straight as she recognized Karira on the other line. Immediately grinning, she waved her hand to alert her mother to pick up the other phone. "Yeah, it's me. Wow, how've you been?"

"_I'm good. And Sesshomaru and Rin are even better." _

Kagome gasped. "What do you mean?"

"_DUH. They're getting maaaaried."_

Kagome squealed, laughing genuinely for the first time in weeks. "That's great! When's the wedding?"

"Pfft. Who knows. But, everyone's so cheery here. Of course, I thought I'd call you and tell you the news."

"Well, tell them I said congratulations." Her smile faltered as she picked up on what she had just said, "So everyone's happy?"

There was a pause. _"Yeah. Inu-Yasha was weird about it though. He gave Rin a pat on the back and left." _

Kagome tensed, but feigned a monotone expression so her mother wouldn't realize. "How is he?"

"…Fine."

"He's dating Kathy?"

"Um…No, Mona… I think."

Kagome nodded, forgetting she had to speak in able for Karira to understand.

"_Kagome, you alright?" _

Kagome's mother swooped up the other phone, finally finding it beneath a stack of cloth. "Oh, _HELLO _Karira. How are you?"

Kagome let out a deep breath and shut the phone to allow her mother and Karira some privacy. Well, there she had it; Inu-Yasha was long over her and was already dating that… thing again. Hadn't he even given her a second thought? Blinking away tears as quickly as they had come, she got up, and picked up a pair of scissors. Cutting across the line her mother had marked on the fabric, she finally decided one thing: if he was going to live his life like nothing had happened, so could she.

_**x.x**_

Inu-Yasha boarded his jet, his entire body tense with anxiety. He was staying at the Ritz Hotel, which he knew wasn't too far from Kellen and Co. Fashion Business Quarters. What were the chances of seeing _her _again? It'd be two months since she'd just left like that. Would he even know what to say?

_**x.x**_

**Weird place to end it… I know… but okay… the story is flowing… chapter twenty-eight next… yippee! Now, the story might end on Chapter Twenty Nine… or Thirty. I'm not sure yet. Review and I'll try to respond back!**


	28. HelloGoodbye

Okay. I love you all for waiting. Muah.

I am so serious about getting the next chapter out _real _quick. (No, you shush. I know I say that all the time, but this time I'm serious.)

Recap: Kagome's in New York. Inu-Yasha's flown to New York. They're not talking. O.O.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: And yes, the title is from the song Here In Your Arms, Hello/Goodbye – and no, I don't own that. Neither do I own Dr. Phil. And - Office coffees don't always taste bad.Kellen and Co. Fashion Business Quarters doesn't exist but I hold rights to name. No stealing.

………………

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

**Hello/Goodbye**

………………

Kagome traced her finger from the bottom of the map to the top. She was trying to figure out a way to get back to Japan, but whenever she'd see the headlines for the country, it'd vanish and her finger would be pointing at America again. Brimming with newfound determination, she closed her eyes and opened them again in another attempt to mark her route back.

Sometime along the way when she was marking her way through Canada, the annoying shrill of her cell began to ring. Too focused on the map to bother, she continued marking her way across the sea when the cell finally shut off, and five seconds later, began to ring again.

Rolling her eyes, she finally reached across her car to get her cell phone and brought it to her ear. "Hello?"

Kagome let out a screech as this time her cell rang, but directly in her ear.

Eyes fluttering open, she took in a couple of heady breaths and then realized, she wasn't holding her cell, but her alarm clock on her ear. Groaning, she let it drop, pressing the sleep button before it hit the carpet. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up straight and leaned back against her headboard. She'd had _another _dream about home. Or what had been so anyway.

Eyes moving to the curtains, she made mark of the dim light creeping in between the curtains and sighed.

Another day. More work.

Sliding her feet over the edge of the bed, she got up and staggered for a bit before making her way across her room and into the narrow hallway of her apartment. They hadn't been able to afford a house in New York, so they'd rented an apartment instead. So far, she still hadn't been able to see the upside of moving. Sure, her mother had gotten a better job but the first paycheck was yet to come. They'd downsized their home, had no neighborhood friends and knew no one in the community. Wasn't it _fabulous? _

Sliding open the kitchen door, she made way to the refrigerator and peeled off the sticky note stuck on the door.

'Sweetie, I went to work early so I wont be able to drive you. Dad went to pick up Souta from the airport. I left extra change on the table, so take the subway. Don't forget to bring in the outfits we finished off last night. Take care and, see you at ten. It's the big day!'

Mom.

'It was the big day.' Kagome let her head lightly hit the fridge. They were finally presenting their fashion line to the executives. On top of that, she was to reach work on the subway; gosh she hated taking that thing. Sighing, she crumpled the paper and threw it in the bin. At least Souta was coming here. He'd shine light on her world with his abnormally obsessive play station gaming. She felt a damper on her mood as she remembered where he'd been all this time. Lucky kid. Vacationed at the Tairo's villa while she'd been lugging away at work here.

Twisting open the cap to a carton of milk, she drank straight from the bottle.

Souta would probably fit in here five times easier than she had. He probably wouldn't even feel lonely with the hordes of play station games he'd probably play day in and day out. Fully awake now, she made her way to the living room, sat on the living room sofa and clicked on her TV.

9:36.

The time flashed on the upper left hand corner of the TV screen and she choked on her milk. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

She'd slept in.

Groaning, she got up off her sofa and ran back into her bedroom to change. Oh, god. "Not again…" She was 'gonna be late.

**x.x**

Inu-Yasha pressed the horn of his Honda Civic, brushing his hand over his chin, as the car in front didn't budge an inch. Biting his cheeks from inside, he glanced at the time.

9:42.

He was late. Again. Forty-two minutes to be exact.

Sliding down his chair, he cursed at himself. He'd been late every single day for the past week, and the director was finally losing his patience with him. It wasn't his fault, though. He had nothing to do with the teeth grinding traffic jam he ended up sticking himself in day after day.

What was keeping the cars anyway? Pressing the horn again, his eyebrows shot up as the passenger in the car in front of him flung open their door and turned towards him, their face contorted in fury. As the man stalked towards his car, he eased off the horn button. Fuck. Maybe he shouldn't have honked so many times.

As the mad neared, he slipped on his cap and shades, all the better if the guy didn't know who he was.

**x.x.**

Kagome ran down her apartment stairs. It'd taken her ten minutes to change. If she made it to the subway station in approximately five minutes, she'd be able to catch the 9:50 Sub and make it to the Kellen and Co. Fashion Business Quarters by 10:15. Being fifteen minutes late wouldn't be too bad.

Flinging herself out the back entrance, she squealed as a gust of chilly air hit her in the face and her knee high skirt shot upwards. Holding the skirt down, she let out a deep breath. Checking the temperature before leaving would've been smart. Groaning for the umpteenth time that morning, she wrapped her arms around her self, and ran out onto the sidewalk.

It was freezing.

Ignoring the skin biting cold, Kagome made her way down the street.

It was only October but it felt like December. She looked on the bright side. At least it wasn't snowing.

She was nearing the pedestrian when she realized her hands were empty. She gaped as it dawned on her.

She'd left the outfits on the table.

**x.x**

Inu-Yasha basically leaped out of his car and slammed the door shut. Some nerve. The same idiot had parked in his parking spot, again. There'd be hell to pay. Not only had he had to reverse out of the lane, he'd gotten in a jam with the car that was pulling in. Neither would back out, and he'd added another twenty minutes to his time. Eventually, the poor soul realized Inu-Yasha had put on the brakes and he pulled out of the lane, letting Inu-Yasha win.

Walking up to the building (or rather running…), Inu-Yasha ignored the ring in his cell phone and scurried up the stairs and into the busy corridor.

Miroku shook his head from his seat on the floor. "You're late. Again."

"What're you doing on the floor?"

There was silence as Miroku's serious demeanor cracked into a smile.

"You're lucky they haven't finished the set or else you'd have been fired."

Inu-Yasha froze. "You mean I stressed out for nothing?"

Miroku clicked his tongue. "I'm on the floor because the trucks with all the furniture are stuck in traffic and haven't arrived."

Inu-Yasha ran a hand through his hair, "And you couldn't have called me to tell me? You know how many fights I got into this morning just so I could get here in time?" His cell phone finally stopped ringing, and Miroku pointed a finger at his pocket.

"That was my call, and actually, you've been ignoring it. You'd have found out if you'd stop, calm down, and think about what was rational every few minutes." Miroku held up his cell phone

Inu-Yasha simply stared at Miroku before losing it, "Did you know some man yelled at me for fifteen minutes straight just for honking at him?"

"It's rude to honk."

"I didn't even have any coffee!"

"Pity."

"After that, I was stuck in traffic for an hour before getting here, and then guess who was parked in my spot again?"

"Raleigh parked in your spot again?" Miroku snorted, "Man I love that guy."

Inu-Yasha breathed out fumes from his nose, "When does filming start?"

Miroku checked his watch, "At one-o-clock."

Without speaking a word to his newfound enemy, Inu-Yasha turned around and stalked out of the building, making sure to slam to the door behind him. He hated the inconvenience and he hated it more when inconveniences like these could have been avoided.

He heard the crunch of gravel behind him and only felt annoyance when Miroku fell into a step beside him, "Inu-Yasha, you've been here almost two weeks, and at first I thought your piss ass attitude was because of jet lag, but I'm beginning to think that there's more behind it."

"Hey, Dr Phil, I don't recall ever asking for your input."

Miroku smirked at him, "Anyway, I talked with Kagome last night, she's doing real good apparently."

Inu-Yasha's step faltered but he managed to act like her name hadn't made his heart pound two times faster. Shit, if there was anything that had occupied his mind all day and all night, it was goddamn her. He'd almost gone lengths to become a stalker. He'd googled out her apartment number, fished out her apartment address, but that's all he'd been able to push himself to do. It was on his bedside table; the paper with all the information on it but the one thing that he couldn't bring himself to do was actually call her. It'd been torture.

He couldn't call her. She was the one who'd run and left him dry wasn't it? She should be the one to make a move. He'd gone over this a thousand times in his head already. His logic made complete sense to him, but then again, this was Kagome he was thinking about. Since they'd departed with an argument, he was a hundred percent sure she was under the impression that he was still angry with her.

On the contrary, he missed her like hell.

Her absence caused such a distraction to him, that he'd often find himself drowning all of it in alcohol, and coffee; so much so he knew it couldn't be too healthy.

He felt a nudge to his shoulder and he flickered his eyes up to meet Miroku's gaze, "What?"

"There. You did it again."

Inu-Yasha was genuinely confused. "Did what?"

"You zoned off."

Inu-Yasha forced a scoff, "I didn't -."

"Don't deny it, man, every time I mention Kagome, you jump into some little world of your own completely separate from reality." Miroku grinned, knowing Inu-Yasha would immediately go on defensive.

Much to his surprise, Inu-Yasha's chest deflated, and he looked away. "Where's the nearest coffee shop I can go to without being bombarded by fans?"

Eying Inu-Yasha warily, Miroku began, for the first time, to feel true sympathy for the guy, "Uh… just behind the building. You'll see it. It's -."

"Thanks."

Miroku watched as Inu-Yasha walked away, his hands stuffed in his pockets and that 'deep in thought' aura following him like a cloud. Worried that his teasing might've finally gone a bit to far, Miroku looked out to the gray road, and the hordes of people moving about. New York was big, but the world was small – and Inu-Yasha (if luck be on his side) would one way or another cross Kagome eventually, what with the erratically same time schedules.

He'd talked to Kagome last night on the phone, and surprisingly, she didn't sound any better than Inu-Yasha did. Well, on the account of whom was more pleasant to talk to, of course Kagome took the gold medal, but it was obvious she was distraught by the situation as much as Inu-Yasha was; why neither swallowed their pride and contacted the other was beyond reason to him.

**x.x**

Kagome ran across the pedestrian crossing, still barely clad in nothing but a skirt and a shirt.

The presentation had gone fine, if you left out the part that she had arrived so late that her mother had to do without the major key outfits. She'd arrived at the very last homestretch of the presentation, and could only watch as her mother struggled to keep all the investors interested.

After everyone had left, she'd been in so much trouble that all she could do while her mother fumed her anger off was listen limply and agree with everything her mother threw at her.

The only reason she was still alive and running across the roads of New York was because a client had called her mother, and actually said that they were interested in expanding her clothing line.

Voila.

They'd done it.

She'd only had about a second to breathe, relax, and relish the feeling of victory and success before her mother had told her that they had another presentation in an hour and the least Kagome could do was get her some coffee.

And feeling guilty about arriving late to work anyway, she'd been more than happy to comply despite the fact that she had no coat to protect her from the wind that had been getting colder by the hour.

The chill air sliced around her legs and brimmed her skin, raising goose bumps all across her body. Shivering, Kagome thought positive. Coffee was only a few minutes away and that coffee would warm her up, from head to toe.

Seeing the expensive café, Kagome broke into a run, the luscious brown walls surrounding the hut looking more welcoming than ever. She reached the small flight of four steps and bounced up, not looking ahead as the café doors flung open.

The café doors barred into her nose, making her squeal as she bumped back, losing her footing on the edge of the step. As she began to tilt backward, someone cursed quite audibly and began to grasp for her, which only resulted in the drop of scalding hot coffee.

Which spilt on her foot.

Biting her tongue in pain and letting out and odd, restrained scream, Kagome's legs gave way and she fell to the floor in a crouched position.

"Shit, sorry, lady, I didn't see you."

Kagome pressed her hand to her nose, trying to figure out if the throbbing meant the nose was intact or broken. She didn't feel any oddly jarred bones, which was good, but then again, no air was passing through her nostrils, which was bad.

"Crap, listen lady, put your head up, and breathe from your mouth." The guy knelt in front of her, obviously concerned.

Ignoring the pain that was slowly fading away in her foot, Kagome shook her head and pushed away the hands of her attacker. Her rejection meant nothing to him apparently as he simply put his hands on either side of her cheek and pulled her face up.

Kagome nearly died.

Oh, god, no.

Her heart had missed a beat as she found herself staring into two pools of hazel. Instantly, she recognized him at once.

**x.x.**

Inu-Yasha was at a loss at what to say. Here he was in, in New York, holding Kagome's head up after nearly breaking her nose and he was shocked, to say the least. Dazed would've been another word for it.

She broke out of the stupor first.

"I'b fine." She pushed away his hands, and moved back; obviously afraid he'd attempt to touch her again.

Her resilience, as usual, charged him, "No you're not, and your nose could be broken."

She breathed from her mouth and held her nose for a second. Her words came out sounding congested, and nasally, "It's just swollen because of the impact. It's not broken. Nothing's bleeding."

Inu-Yasha nodded slowly, trying to subdue his nervousness. God damn it, why wouldn't his head think? He didn't know what to say, so instead, he helped her up from the ground and steadied her onto her feet. His coffee, or what was left of it was on the ground, disregarded for.

"Uh, thanks."

He shook his head, "No, it was my fault."

"No, I should've-."

"I didn't know you were running up the steps, I shouldn't have slammed it open."

"Honestly, It was my…" She let out a pent up breath, "… Okay, if you insist… it was your fault."

He let out apologetic smile, which he noticed made her blush. The space between them filled awkwardly with a stretched out silence, and Inu-Yasha looked around, noticing the coffee sign, "You were buying coffee here?"

Her eyes, which had been concentrating on the passing cars, finally flickered back to look at him, "Um no."

"You weren't?"

She stammered, "W-well, I was just passing by."

Hearing her stutter, Inu-Yasha finally realized what she was dressed in. A skirt, and a shirt. Raising an eyebrow, he immediately slipped his arm out of a sleeve. "Are you cold?"

"No!" She moved back, "I'm fine."

He pulled off his other sleeve, "I can give you my sweater."

Kagome frantically waved her hands in front of him, "Seriously, I'm fine." She slumped her shoulders, her eyes flicking to the cars again, "Actually, I have to go!"

"Weren't you getting coffee?" Inu-Yasha watched hopelessly as began to back off.

**x.x**

Kagome struggled to find the perfect words. She couldn't quite say, 'I desperately want to talk to anyone but you, you two-timing, arrogant, egotistical ass.' Turning back around she opened her mouth a couple of times to speak, finally on the fourth try coming up with something to say, "I was going to get coffee, but," she shrugged, "I realized this isn't quite the place I want to get it from."

He nodded slowly, "Well, I heard it's not that bad here…"

"How's Mona?" Kagome cringed as it came out of her mouth. Looking down at the ground, she made note of slapping herself later. She didn't care _that _much did she? Not after that motivational speech she had given herself earlier. "I mean, I'm just wondering. We… bonded."

Oh, god, he _so _knew she was lying.

She rambled on, seeing that he wasn't saying anything, "It's just… I read you were back together with her. Congratulations."

Raising an eyebrow, realization dawned on his face, but before even opened his mouth, Kagome cut him off.

"Oh geez," she raised her watch-less wrist and pretended to look at the time, "It's getting late. I have to go."

"Wait,"

Before he could get a hold of her arm, Kagome turned around and ran.

_**x.x**_

It was like a slap to the face. He _wanted _to run after her, but his legs stayed rooted to the ground. As she turned the corner, he slumped back towards the wall and buried his face in his hands. What the _fuck? _After all that happened between them – _this _was what they'd become, a pair of nervous twits?

Gosh, he was pissed off again. It was as if he had been picked up, put on a high and then dropped to crash and burn. Pulling open the café door, he went back in to order another coffee. She… thought he was going out with that whore again?

He'd taken a seat behind an isolated table near a humungous plant when the doorbell jingled and Miroku walked in, his eyes surfing the room to find Inu-Yasha. As soon as he spotted him, he strode over and sat down. "Hey, I just saw…" His eyebrows rose in surprise. Slowly, he let out a low whistle, "Did you talk to her?"

Inu-Yasha slumped back in his chair in frustration, and only after two exaggerated minutes, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Miroku tapped drummed his nails on the table, studying his friend, "Inu-Yasha?"

Inu-Yasha rubbed his face; pushing his bangs out of his eyes and then letting them fall back into place. "I hate her."

Taken aback, Miroku straightened his back, "You don't _hate_ her."

Staring directly at Miroku for the first time, Inu-Yasha shook his head as if finally snapping back to reality. "No, I just hate how she's making me feel like crap right now."

"Just-."

"A black coffee for you sir," the waitress placed a mug on their table, apologetically smiling knowingly aware that she had disturbed their conversation. "Would you like anything?"

Miroku winked, "Your phone number perhaps?"

She blinked twice, as if unaware that she had just been hit on. Catching on, she rolled her eyes and walked away.

Inu-Yasha smirked at him, "You're pathetic."

"I'm pathetic? You're moping in a coffee café." Miroku raised his hand to stop his retort, "Just listen, here's the number of the place she's working at. Call her. Ask her to have lunch or something, and if she says no – at least you tried, right?"

Inu-Yasha stared at the tiny note Miroku slid across the table. Ten neat digits were scrabbled onto it in Kagome's handwriting. Without a word, he took the paper and pocketed it. "Thanks."

"Will you call her?"

Yes.

But instead, he grunted. "Maybe."

_**x.x**_

Kagome sat around the boardroom and watched some posh, 60 percent, plastic blonde talked on and on about the fashion show next week. Half the words she was using were foreign to her; therefore even feigning interest was difficult. Sneezing, she held a Kleenex to her nose that had turned red as a result of the nose bashing from yesterday. It hadn't broken, so she was happy with that.

As she pretended to jot down notes, she noticed after a horrifying realization that the woman was talking directly to _her. _

"So will you get all the equipment for the source 4's?"

Kagome smiled, "Of _course._" She jotted down some more. _'Source Four?? Equipment?' _

She clicked her tongue, "And, remember, the barrels can't be too large. We don't want last months accident to happen _again._"

Kagome nodded.

What barrel accident?

"So get the catwalk lowered tonight, alright?"

Ah. English. "Sure." She held her breath as the woman stared at her for an excruciatingly long second before turning her attention to another employee. Relaxing again, she went back to doodling on her notepad.

An hour and a half later, she was pouring somewhat stale coffee into her plastic cup.

Yesterday, she had come back empty handed since the next meeting had to start in a few minutes and if she'd gone to the next coffee shop, she'd have been late. Much to her surprise, her mother hadn't bothered her much about it after she had told her about her crossing with Inu-Yasha.

But even so, she wasn't _ever _going to go back to that coffee café.

She took a sip of the coffee and immediately blanched. It was so morbidly disgusting that it should've been banned to serve coffee like this to employees. Baring with the taste, she made her way to her mother's office.

Thinking back to yesterday, which by the way, she continuously found herself doing, she felt her body give a little volt. God, he still looked drop dead gorgeous, and from the look of it, it didn't seem like he hated her…

She was probably wrong. If he didn't _hate _her then he obviously would've called her, or talked to her when she called the villa.

It was thoughts like those that brought her down to Earth. What happened over the summer only happened because there was some weird time lapse, which unbalanced the normality of life or _something,_

She walked briskly into her mom's office, dropped her folder on the desk, and plopped onto the revolving chair.

Her mother's voice came from the adjoining room, "Kagome, pick up line four would you?"

Curious as to who would call her at work, she leaned over and picked up the phone, pressing the fourth button. "Kagome Higurashi speaking."

"Uh, Hey."

Kagome almost fell off her chair, knocking over her coffee, spilling half of the hot brown liquid on the folder, "SHIT."

"_Sorry. Bad time?" _

"No, not at all!" Finding no paper towel, Kagome furiously grabbed her own t-shirt and began to dab at the spill. "Give me one minute." Putting down the phone, Kagome stared at her own shirt. Aw crap, coffee would stain. Groaning, she moved the folder out of the way and covered the remaining spill with sheets of useless paper.

Then she stared at the phone.

If _only _her heart would stop hitting her ribcage so hard, she'd be able to think.

Oh god, Inu-Yasha was on the line.

Inu-Yasha: Was the phone.

Inu-Yasha: Had called _her._

Idly looking at the phone as if it would burn her, Kagome thought up of something to say.

Should she act cool, and pretend everything was okay between them? Or should she actually address the problem?

No way. The first one sounded much, _much _better.

Picking up the phone, she tried to relax before pressing it to her ear and speaking, "Sorry, I had to finish up something."

"It's fine."

Silence.

"_How's it going?" _

Kagome exhaled. He sounded just as nervous as she, "It's been alright. I didn't know how much work actually went into all this fashion stuff."

"Yeah? Sounds rough."

"It's not too bad though," She smiled to herself, "It's always worth it when you're done a project."

"_Karira told me you guys landed a client. Congrats."_

"Thanks," Kagome dawdled with the phone line, "Um, so how are you?"

"I'm alright. Listen," he hesitated.

Kagome perked up. "Yeah?"

"I don't know if you'd want to… and it's alright if you're busy… just… if you… maybe want to go out for breakfast tomorrow -."

"Breakfast?" Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Don't you mean lunch?"

"I can't make it to lunch, or dinner, but if you cant make it, its fine."

"No, it's alright with me!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah!"

He let out a sigh from the other line, "Sounds good. Meet me at Centennial Park at eight? I know a good breakfast restaurant nearby."

Kagome nodded, "Okay, I'll see you then."

"See ya."

"Bye!"

Kagome put the phone back in it's cradle and took a moment to suck it all in. Oh my god. What was she doing? What happened to the 'No More Inu-Yasha' Plan?

Her mind in a daze of thought, she scratched out the meeting she was supposed to go to at 8.30, tomorrow morning. Her mom would be able to attend it, no problem.

**x.x**

**Ahh I'm so close to the end now, I can almost SEE it wrapping together. Two more chapters left! The next, hopefully, if all goes as planned (which it should) – should be the climax. I'm writing, I'm writing. If you guys don't hate me for updating so late, please review. I'll respond personally to all of them if I can! **


	29. Sweet Toast on A Morning Mess

**Recap: After two months apart, Inu-Yasha and Kagome see each other again and Inu-Yasha asks Kagome out for breakfast.**

………………

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

**Sweet Toast on A Morning Mess.  
**

………………

Running her palms over the creases of her shirt, she unconsciously tugged her tank top down. She groaned. Something didn't fit. Walking over to the mirror, she checked her hair and sighed. Maybe she should just open her hair tie and wear her hair down; it didn't look good in two braids anyway.

She was pulling down the elastic when she snapped back into place.

_No. _She wasn't going to _freak out _over breakfast with Inu-Yasha.

It was just breakfast for goodness sake.

Not a date.

Blinking at herself in the mirror, she felt a rural wave of self-consciousness wash over her. What if he noticed the few pounds she'd stacked up?

"It's not a _date_, Kagome." She sang to herself. Even if she _had _gained weight, she didn't care... not much anyway. He'd just have to keep his thoughts to himself, since his opinion never really mattered.And she would've believed herself only if her heart didn't begin to race every time his name came up and her palms began to sweat whenever she thought of him.

Looking at the mirror, she wrapped a warm checkered scarf around her neck and turned around. She had to stop berating herself over this, because if it came down to it; all this breakfast would turn out to be would be an awkward hour-long get-together. Nothing more.

Creaking open her parents room, she skimmed her eyes over her rents's bed to make sure they were still asleep before tiptoeing out to living room. If anything, if her parents _didn't _know she was about to meet Inu-Yasha, it would be best. They'd only think of it as a joke, anyway.

As she tied the second shoelace for her shoe, she tried to think of anything other than the following meeting.

Souta introduced her to the new Nintendo Wii last night; and she swore it was made _just _for her. She played it till one in the morning too, but honestly it wasn't _her _fault that Link needed her to guide his destiny.

Inu-Yasha had loved Zelda when he was fifteen-ish didn't he?

Walking to the elevator, she ran a hand over her forehead. Why couldn't she just relax over these things like everyone else could?

As the elevator door dinged open, she got in and slowly pressed for the lobby. It was seven thirty, which meant Inu-Yasha would be waiting at Centennial Park at exactly half an hour. Knowing him, he'd probably come late. Smiling at the little bit of information, her trail of thought went back to the first day of summer when she'd received the news of where she'd be staying for the next two months.

Gosh, if she'd known she'd have become this close to him, just to have the relationship ripped to pieces again (by herself, nonetheless), she would've never gotten on that limousine even if it meant clinging onto her mother for dear life.

Ah well.

Since it happened, she didn't regret it. Surprisingly enough, she realized as she thought to herself, she wouldn't have changed one detail of her summer vacation.

Well… there was that whole Naraku business, but that was in the past.

As the elevator stopped in front of the lobby, she jerked a little as she felt something against her thigh vibrate. Remembering that her cell phone was tucked away in her pocket, she quickly took it out and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

For a moment, there was simply static.

"_Hey, Kagome?"_

Kagome wrinkled her forehead as she tried to put a name to the voice. "Ah, Tiffany?"

"_You remember me!"_

"Of course." How had she gotten her cell number? "So how are you?"

"_I'm fine. I just wanted to make sure you're okay." _

Kagome berated herself for the cold wind as she stepped outside the apartment building. To her relief, there was only a mild breeze. "That's nice of you. I'm fine though but you sound worried."

There was more static before Tiffany replied, _"I have to go so I'll be quick. Well, Naraku's trial started. Yesterday, he started saying some stuff about how he had people following you. I don't know if he was just bluffing."_

Kagome halted, a chill running down her spine. "What?"

_"Sorry for worrying you. I'm sure he was saying it to get a rise out of the jury. Sorry. Calling you was stupid of me, I shouldn't have burdened you with this."_

As the static got worse, Kagome tried walking around for a good signal. "Wait, Tiffany – tell me more -."

_"I can't really hear you Kagome. Listen, he'll be sentenced tonight, so just stay safe until then, for the heck of it. Actually, forget I said anything. I'm pretty sure he was lying now, it seems far fetched he'd go to that extreme to get revenge on you."_

It didn't seem far-fetched to Kagome, however. Desperate to keep Tiffany on the line, she headed back into the lobby of her apartment building, where to her misfortune, the static got worse. "Tiffany, can you hear me?"

"_Hello – Kag -." _The static deafened her left ear and she pulled the phone away. When she put it back, she got a dial tone.

_**x.x**_

Inu-Yasha looked down at the dozens of pennies scattered all over the fountain floor. As he idly stared, a random burst of water from the gargoyles sprayed out and splashed on top of the clear water; contorting the perfect image he had of the fountain base.

For the hell of it, he fished out a quarter, looked at it for a moment and flipped it in the fountain. It plopped a few feet away and sunk to the tiles below, on top of a dollar and a penny.

She was late.

And when he meant _she, _he was referring to Kagome who was already three minutes behind schedule. If she _stood him up_, he'd never be able to show his face to the public eye again.

Ok. So maybe he was exaggerating; but nevertheless, he'd be humiliated. He'd be hurt first since he'd pumped himself up so much for this beforehand, and humiliation would follow next. He checked his watch and frowned as the numbers switched to _8:04. _

The park was usually empty till nine; after that, locals would start filling in and he couldn't be here when that happened or else he'd be running down the street with a pack of girls anxious to lay their hands on whichever body part of his they could reach.

He shivered. God, that was scary.

"Inu-Yasha?"

He felt his breath hold in his lungs as he turned around and saw Kagome standing in front of him. Her shoulders were hunched and her hands were stuffed in her pant pockets as she gave him a nervous smile.

He smiled back. "You're late."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at the cell phone that was clutched in her hand, "I'm a _minute_ early."

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth to retort but was silenced as the few bells on the centennial park clock brushed each other slightly and began to chime, hitting the eight-o-clock mark.

Kagome smirked, "And you were saying?"

Blushing slightly, he lifted his gaze to the decent trail a few ways off from where they were. "Let's go to breakfast."

Kagome fell in step beside Inu-Yasha as he led her down the trail to a small, highly prestigious breakfast restaurant.

Not knowing what to say to her after her awkward departure two months ago, he set his jaw and looked ahead, feeling an uncontrollable anxiety uncurling in him as the silence between them thickened.

As the sign for the restaurant came in view, he restrained himself from thanking the lord that a conversation starter had literally fallen in their footsteps. "Have you ever been here before?"

Kagome looked around the cute little spot and shrugged, "I don't think I have."

He clicked his tongue, "Then I suggest you only try the French toast, because everything else is awful."

She giggled, "A place with a good selection. Thanks."

He grinned as he opened the door for her, "Anytime."

The little restaurant was just as cutesy inside as it was outside. Flowers of _who knows _what kind were lined neatly across the small burrows in front of the windows, in all different colors; well, mostly peach, violet and red. The tables were round and the chair edges curved, with peachy cushions for backrests. The air was scented with jasmine and sunlight poured in from any creak in the burrow like place.

His eyes swiftly searched for any reaction from Kagome and he eased a little as he saw her gasp to herself.

Honestly, he hated this place with a passion. He couldn't stand the jasmine, and he hated all the different colors; seriously, it was too much for the morning. However, it was either this or his personal favorite; breakfast in bed.

You could see which alternative won.

He let her choose the table, which to his great misfortune was right beside a blinding sunny window and literally beside a bouquet of flowers. Swallowing his masculine pride, he called a waitress over.

"I'll just have French Toast with jam."

She planted a fake smile on her face and scribbled it down, "What kind of jam?"

He frowned, "Strawberry."

"Alright, shall we whip on some cream, syrup and chocolate chips as well?"

Inu-Yasha felt his stomach squeeze at the image of breakfast. "Sounds goods."

"Alright. What'll we serve you, miss."

Kagome genuinely looked troubled as she picked up the menu, "I don't know yet!"

Inu-Yasha felt like an ass as he realized he'd given her no time to even look at the menu, "Oh, just come back -."

Kagome waved him off, "I'll have what he's having."

"It's fattening."

She raised her eyebrows and put down the menu, "Are you calling me fat?"

"_No. _I just thought… you'd want something healthier – ah, never mind." He nodded to the waitress, indicating her to leave. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at Kagome who stared straight back at him.

She tapped her nails on the table, talking after a long pause "You do know that I didn't mind the whole 'fattening' thing."

He laughed in exasperation, "I didn't mean it that way."

She smiled, "Okay, just making sure."

Silence elapsed between them, however this time it was more relaxed than awkward or uneasy. As Kagome looked down to read over the menu for fun, he let himself look her over, allowing himself to finally see how much she'd changed.

Her hair had grown longer, as long as it could have over two months and now it drifted a few ways past her shoulders. If anything, she'd actually begun to wear some makeup; something he remembered she wasn't that fond of. It wasn't much though, just a light brush of mascara punctuating her eyelashes. Nevertheless, working in the fashion industry had an obvious effect on her clothes. He'd never seen her wear boots before, or match her scarf with her skirt; but as she sat before him, he realized – she did.

As she flipped the menu, he sighed as he realized her wrist was bare which meant his bracelet was probably stashed away in some drawer. He snapped himself back to earth and gave himself a reality check. He had absolutely no right being upset over something so trivial because they'd broken up… and even though he still had feelings for her, it was obvious she didn't so consequently, it was his job to shut up and just take the place of a friend.

Kagome looked up from the menu, catching his eye immediately. "What?"

"Nothing."

She looked at him strangely, "Ookay… so…" she looked at him expectedly but as he pointedly stared back, she fell silent, "Never mind."

And this was where the silence went from relaxing to award again. He cleared his throat. "Well, anyway, how's it going?"

She nodded slowly, "Good, good. Nothing new that you don't know about." She stopped abruptly but decidedly went back to nodding her head, "And you?"

"Same."

"Inu-Yasha… today…" she began tapping her nails against the table. "Forget it."

Finally, he clicked in to her clues. "Did something happen today?"

She sighed deeply, letting her back slump and shoulders drop, "Well, I don't wanna' ruin the breakfast or anything."

Concerned, he straightened his back. "No, tell me."

She looked at him, her eyes brimming with worry. "It's just that Tiffany called. Remember her?"

It took him a while but as he scrutinized his mind to remember, it came to him. "...Yeah! The last time I saw her was forever ago."

Kagome stopped her anxious tapping and placed her hand firmly on the table, "She called me this morning, and it was so random; I mean, I didn't expect her to call or anything. Well," She began her tapping again, "She told me Naraku said in trial that he'd sent some people to follow me and _today, _apparently was the day when whatever was to happen had to happen so I'm just _really _scared."

Inu-Yasha felt his palm ball in a fist. "Shit." Shaking his head he sighed, obviously pissed off, "The nerve of that guy."

Her face crinkled in fear, "What should I do?"

"Well, for one you can't be alone, not even for a minute." Inu-Yasha watched her earnestly as she nodded in agreement, "And just stay out of public places."

"I have to go to work, though."

"Kagome, your mom will understand."

Kagome shut herself up as the waitress who they'd ordered from came and put two plates on their table, loaded with heavy French toast. As she left, she went back to the conversation. "I don't want to disappoint my mom and I've been doing that a lot lately."

"Kagome, I know you've disappointed a lot of people in life," he said jokingly, and didn't flinch as she smacked his arm, "But trust me, I know your mom's not disappointed in you."

She sulked, "You don't know that."

"You moved countries to help her." He waited until she looked directly at him. "Got it?"

"Okay... Yeah. Whatever." She murmured quietly.

_**x.x**_

Kagome wolfed down the French toast hungrily, the whipped cream melting in her mouth alongside the chocolate chips. Stuffing the last piece of soggy toast in her mouth, she laughed as Inu-Yasha made another lame but sarcastically funny joke about toilet seats and how they're connected to the FBI.

As she sipped the last quarter of her milk down quickly, she peered over her cup at Inu-Yasha and giggled as his French toast dropped off his fork and onto the ground.

Honestly, it was as if what had transpired between them had never happened and all of a sudden, it felt like they were back to normal – whatever _normal_ was to them, anyway.

"Should we go?"

Not wanting to delay his plans, she resentfully put down her glass of milk and got up, "Go where?"

"We could wander around New York City." He flashed a grin at her, his excitement resonating through. "I have sunglasses. No one will recognize me."

Kagome rolled her eyes and pushed her chair back underneath the table, "You know, Inu-Yasha, some humans actually have things call _brains – _and often, they use them. I'm sure they'll see right through your sunglasses."

As Inu-Yasha pulled out a _thick _wad of bills from his wallet, he rambled on, "But I don't want to go back to work."

Knowing that that was as near enough compliment she'd get from him now, she felt herself warm up and smiled to herself happily.

This actually wasn't too bad.

After Inu-Yasha finished paying for the breakfast, they headed back outside, where the wind had calmed down drastically. Loosening her scarf, they talked about where to head next and finally, decided to head deeper into the park.

Running in front of Inu-Yasha, Kagome stood under a tall tree and looked up, squinting her eyes as the bright light her in the eyes. "If you stand _here _and look up, the leaves almost block out the sun."

Inu-Yasha looked up at the hordes of branches, confused and raised an eyebrow, "…so?"

Kagome sighed exasperatedly, "Well. It's _pretty_." Shuffling through the bag she had brought with her, she took out her camera, aimed it at the sky and clicked.

"I'm not going out with Mona, you know."

Kagome felt her body tense anxiously as the words registered in her mind and she slowly brought down her camera to her chest. "Wait, what?" He'd said it so randomly that she almost staggered back.

An obvious blush flushed across his cheeks, "I know this is out of the blue but, I thought you thought that I was going out with her."

Kagome clenched her jaw together, ignoring the gut squirming pain in her chest as he said that. Shrugging, she continued walking down the trail while fiddling with the camera, "Well. Yeah. You are going out with her, aren't you?"

He came up behind her, "_No_, I'm not. You know those tabloids write crap."

Looking up at him, her voice dropped to quiet level. "So… you're not?"

"I'm not." He looked at her innocently, and Kagome looked away immediately as she felt a little happiness inside her as he said that. She _wasn't _going to fall for him again, and no _innocent _pout was going to change that.

Fiddling with her camera, she nodded slowly, "Well. Okay. I don't like her anyway. She's totally wrong for you."

His ears perked up as she said that, "She is?"

"Well," Kagome casually pulled the camera back up to her eye and took a random picture of the trees. "Yeah."

Pulling the camera out of her hands, he took a few steps back as Kagome tried to snatch it back. "So are you saying I have a _type_?"

Shivering as he looked down at her mischievously, she jumped for the camera as he held it high above his head. "Give that back."

"You didn't answer my question."

She groaned, "I'm not going to answer that Inu-Yasha."

Taking a few steps away from her, he laughed as she lunged for it. "Why not?"

"Because it's a stupid question, that's why." Holding down his left arm as she tried to jump for the camera in his right, she sighed with frustration as he tore out of her grasp and broke into a run. "_Inu-Yasha!" _

He grinned back at her, "Yeah?"

Dropping her bag to the floor, Kagome kept in a laugh as she ran after him, "It cost me my paycheck!"

He was a good ways away from her and he turned around to boast, "Well thank god there's a stream up ahead, eh? All the better to throw this in."

Gasping, she sprinted after him, and literally lunged on his back as she got within a feet, tackling him to the dirt trail. As he let out a loud _'oomph'_, she crawled across his back and reached for the camera, but to no avail as he pulled his arm in and underneath his stomach.

"Seriously, Inu-Yasha, you're going to damage it."

"Well, what's my type?"

Kagome growled in frustration and let her forehead rest against the ground. Looking at him from the corner of her eye, she watched him smirk as he shifted the camera underneath him to make himself more comfortable. "I said I'm not answering that."

Inu-Yasha tried to get up but she pushed him back down, "_Why?_"

She laughed, "Because, what kind of question is that anyway? _You're _supposed to know the answer."

He sighed sarcastically, "Well, I suppose I'll just take this.."

Eyes widening as he took the camera out from underneath his abdomen area and _accidentally _scuffed it against the ground, she reached out for it again. "Fine, moron. I'll tell you."

He let the camera rest against the ground, and looked at her with the same mischievous smirk still plastered across his face. "Go on."

'_Oh, lord, help Me.' _she thought before opening her mouth; "Well, first and foremost, she can't be like Mona – at all."

He shifted his position, letting his back rest against the ground as Kagome fell off and made herself comfortable beside him. He crunched his forehead, "Okay, how come?"

She threw her hands in the air and made dramatic gestures as if he was supposed to know, "Because she lets you boss her around, she grubs for your money, she has no idea when to back off, she doesn't know the difference between materialistic affection and actual emotional heart-to-heart affection, she doesn't realize when her skirts too high and her shirt too low, she wears too much makeup which completely defies the purpose of _natural _beauty, she'll **never **be there for you when you need her, your family doesn't like her, she doesn't connect with your siblings… and she has no respect for anyone else either." Letting out a deep breath, she looked away from Inu-Yasha and back up at the sky. "That's it."

Inu-Yasha chuckled, "Wow."

Feeling like she was on a roll, she punched him lightly, "And you need someone who's completely the opposite of that." After a pause, she continued, "Someone who won't just bail when things get rough either."

Inu-Yasha looked at her, and the seriousness on his face let her know he knew _exactly _what she was talking about. He didn't say anything though, which gave her leisure to continue talking.

"Inu-Yasha, I'm sorry about that. It was completely moronic and stupid of me, you know?"

He brought his hands behind his head to give his head some sort of a pillow, "I think I over exaggerated when I heard about it too."

Kagome smiled slyly, "Well, you did…"

He pointed a finger at the air, which was supposed to be directed at her but he was too lazy to do so. "You have _no _right to speak right now."

She laughed, "Okay. I'll shut up."

Sitting up, Inu-Yasha ignored the dust on his shirt and handed the camera back to Kagome. "Don't worry about it though. I'm over it."

Not knowing if he was talking about the fight or the relationship, Kagome felt a dose of sadness drowse her as he said that anyway. Ignoring it, she sat up beside him, and put the camera to the side. "So we're cool?"

Inu-Yasha looked at her; and not just with that simple glance people often pass to each other but with a hard stare that shook her to the core. Glancing away, he frowned, "If you want me to tell you the truth… well… I missed you, Kagome."

Her heart almost skipped a beat and she searched his face to make sure he wasn't joking. "Well, I missed you too -."

"But I don't just mean it like _that, _forget it, you wont understand." Getting up, his mood obviously ruined, he brushed off dirt from his clothes and began walking back.

Not about to let him go, she caught up with him and pulled on his arm. "Just say what you wanted to say."

"It's not worth it." He flinched as what he said came out wrong, "I mean, I know what you'll say."

Kagome let her shoulders drop, "How has this conversation suddenly gone so sour?"

Inu-Yasha gave a half-hearted grin, "It's always been like that between us Kagome."

Kagome shook her head; going through different possibilities she could run with, "Well it doesn't _have _to. For example, if you want to say something, just say it. If we both gave an effort to be open with each other, things that happen probably wouldn't happen."

He looked straight at her, and for a second, almost looked defeated. "Do you really want to hear it?"

Gosh, she didn't know if she actually wanted to. She nodded furiously anyway.

"Kagome, I want to try _us _again."

Her mind going blank, her mouth dropped open. Feeling a flurry of emotions race through her, she didn't know if she wanted to _run _right now or drown in a pool of black nothingness. Oh dear lord, this was the last thing that she'd wanted to hear for hadn't she decided she simply couldn't let herself go through with him again?

…Even if she wanted to.

Rephrase that - Desperately wanted to.

Her mouth open and closed several times, each instant nothing came out. Finally, Inu-Yasha put his hands in his pockets.

His sigh was almost sad. "I knew it."

Kagome gulped down whatever substance had come in her throat, disabling her to talk. "Inu-Yasha…"

He simply looked away.

"No. Look at me." When he didn't listen to her, Kagome stepped in front of him. "You know why we can't go out again."

He scoffed, "Give me a good reason."

She waved around at the park, "Inu-Yasha, we live no where close to each other."

He shrugged carelessly, "We could work around it."

"_Everyone _will be against it."

"When did what other people think matter so much?"

She stumbled for something else, "We _always _end up fighting."

"But we always work through it, too." He ran a hand through his hair to calm himself down, "Kagome, admit it, you're just afraid of committing -."

"I am _not _afraid of commitment, Inu-Yasha." Desperate for him to understand, she met his glare as he snapped his eyes to her.

"Then what is it?"

"I just -." She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Whenever I give you my trust, you just hurt me every single time."

He groaned, "I know I've made mistakes."

"Please stop." Shaking her head, she pressed her hands against her warm cheeks and hopelessly looked for the perfect thing to say, "We -."

His chest deflated, as if he had finally gone to his last help line, "I know you want to give it another shot."

"I need time to think, Inu-Yasha." Looking anywhere but him, she let the silence between them stretch before glancing up at him. "I'll call you. Seriously. I just have to be alone, right now."

Inu-Yasha gave her a hard stare before letting out a resentful, deep breath. Taking a heavy step forward, he brushed her shoulder before walking back to the exit of the trail, leaving her in solitude.

_**x.x**_

Kagome idly looked at her cell phone, the time blinking on it barely registering in her mind.

Walking down the street back to her apartment, she could hardly think logically.

Inu-Yasha… _wanted _to get back with her?

Closing her eyes, she replayed the scene in her head again, and again, and again. What the hell was wrong with her? Why… hadn't she agreed?

She knew, for a fact she _was _afraid of committing herself to him for the fear of just to be torn apart again by a pointless fight, but… honestly, was going on _without _him even worth it?

Turning the corner, she sulked as she thought about it. The day had gone from _amazing _to absolutely horrible and knowing that when she got home, her parents were probably going to tag on her for going missing in the morning just made it even worse.

As the pedestrian light flashed green, she looked both ways before putting her right foot forward to cross.

Frowning, she sighed for the umpteenth time that day.

She was jerked out of her daze however as a car to her left reared into drive and as she quickly craned her head to see what was happening; the white van horned loudly and drove straight at her.

_**x.x**_

**Heello! Just a note – no, Inu-Yasha isn't going to jump out of nowhere and pick her up and fly. **

**Alriteo – next chapter is the FINAL chapter of Being Backstage. Wow!! The last one of all. Chapter Thirty. The ending. The epilogue (did I have a prologue? No?) **

**See you then! **

**Ahh! And review and tell me what you thought of this chapter? I'll love you. **


	30. Being Backstage

**So it took three months to spit this out, but **

**Here it is, the final chapter. The first chunk of it is Chapter 30, and the last tiny bit is a short epilogue. This is definitely the longest chapter I've ever written, reaching past twenty pages! **

**Oh and there's an authors note you guys should read at the bottom of the chapter when you're done.**

**Okay, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha, no matter how I wish I did – and also important: I do not own any of the commercialized stores, or products used in this chapter.**

**Chapter Thirty**

**Being Backstage**

"And cut." A long, drawn out, frustrated sigh filled the studio, "Let's take the scene from the beginning."

With that cue, the camera man's assistant waved his hand in front of the camera, "Act two, take eight."

Inu-Yasha brushed his palm across his lips and regained his posture, straightening his back and clenching his jaw. He was upset, tired, sulky, felt like a failure and the last thing he wanted to do was film. Nevertheless, here he was, leaning against a Victorian Style arm rest, acting out a scene he had no clue how to and failing at it miserably. He let that take a punch at his ego, lately he seemed he was good at nothing, anyway.

The girl sitting in front of him, who was painted with pounds of makeup and wearing clothes too tight for her and extensions too fake, looked up at him teary eyed. "But who could have done this?"

He blinked at her, his mind blank. He parted his lips, in preparation to deliver his lines but simply stared at the teary woman in front of him. Dammit he'd forgotten his lines again.

"Cut." The word sliced through the silence and the director sullenly let his head roll back to rest against his head rest. "Let's just take five. All we need is a break, I think."

Activity busted out around the room at once and people at their post began to talk, some packing up for lunch. Dully, Inu-Yasha just sat on the set sofa and stared across at the actress whose tears had disappeared as soon as the camera had turn off.

She looked at him pointedly, anger brimming under her eyes. "Just pull it together so we can get through with today's shoot."

"Never asked you for advice." Inu-Yasha said, feeling a little guilty as her eyes widened. Instead of making a scene as he expected, she pursed her lips, got up and stalked out of the studio. Left by himself, he folded his arms across his chest before leaning back into the sofa to look at the ceiling.

No matter how he distracted himself, the sinking feeling that he had that had been there since Kagome had left, was still swirling around in his stomach. He felt miserable, lonely, rejected, wretched and guilty. How stupid had he been to even think Kagome would _want _him in her life again? For god's sake, she hated him and he'd just shoved his feelings down her throat.

It'd been an hour since it happened and half an hour since they'd started to shoot the same scene _over _and _over _again but no matter how he prepped himself, he couldn't pull it off. Not today anyway, an hour after Kagome had walked away from him.

Miroku, concerned as usual walked up to him, a free coffee in his hand. Handing it to him, he flopped down on the cushion beside him and took a long sip from his dark drink. "I take it the date went bad?"

Inu-Yasha, ignoring the heart crushing squeeze he felt in his chest, glanced at Miroku from above his coffee. "How'd you know -."

"I called Kagome last night and she filled me in. She seemed excited, how bad could it have been?"

Inu-Yasha scoffed, "Bad."

"Do you wanna bail on today's shoot?"

His ears perked up to the idea but the reality of the day kicked in, "And do what?"

A frown etched across Miroku's face and stumped, he sighed. "I don't know. Hang?"

Inu-Yasha shook his off the idea, knowing if he didn't have a distraction, the enveloping feeling of dropping down a long dark hole would probably just consume him. With utter boredom, he took out the vibrating cell phone from his pocket, flipped it open and looked at the 37 missed calls. "What the..."

Miroku raised an eyebrow and peeked at the cell phone screen, amazed. "Maybe it's Kagome calling to ask you to take her back."

"Miroku, jack off." Crouching forward, Inu-Yasha who had finally snapped out of the daze had been in since Kagome had walked away, scrolled down the list of missed calls. All of them except for about two had been from his family, Kagome's family, or Trasia Hospital Ward's payphone. Concerned, he checked the text messages he had received and read the first one from Karira.

'**Have you talked to mom yet? I don't know what exactly happened but I'm already on the plane to New York. What hospital is Kagome in?' **

Alarm shot through Inu-Yasha and for a moment, he felt sick. Then as Miroku snatched away his cell to read the message, Inu-Yasha ran a hand through his head and held himself to keep his calm. His heart had leapt in panic as he had read the last sentence but slowly, he felt his pulse return to a normal throb. Why the hell was Kagome in a Hospital?

Miroku wrinkled as both his eyebrows shot up, "What aren't you telling me Inu-Yasha?"

"I don't know what Karira is talking about. It's as new to me as it is to you. Now give my cell back," Snatching away his compatible piece of bling, he dialed Karira's number and held it to his ear, blocking out the studio's noise by getting off the couch and walking to the empty studio.

After the fourth bell, despite the static, Karira's voice broke through? _"Hello?"_

"Karira, what happened to Kagome?"

"_Hello? Inu-Yasha I'm on the plane." _

He tried to hold back a frustrated sigh but released it anyway, "Yeah, I got your text message. Listen though, what happened to Kagome?"

"_Yeah, Inu-Yasha? Did you get my text?" _

Inu-Yasha cursed, moving around to find a better reception area. When he stepped behind the lighting equipment, the static roared in his ear, almost deafening before he lost her signal and the dial tone began to beep in his ear. Dammit, he paid well over two hundred dollars for the stupid phone.

His stomach constricted in anxious knots, he had dialed the first six digits of his brother's number when the director walked back on set.

"Alright," he pulled on his beret, his fringes dampening against his forehead. "Let's try the scene again. Inu-Yasha, we're going to give it five more shots and if you don't get it, we'll shoot the scene tomorrow."

He held his groan, and snapped his cell phone shut, sliding the sleek and black device back into his pocket. It'd be damn miracle if he got through his lines _now, _and half of him urged to just bail on the filming.

But he stayed. Rolling his neck, he tried to ease away his tense muscles and walked back to his spot in front of the green screen. Focusing his attention on the lines he'd memorized, he ran over what Karira's text message had said and gave a shot at using some logic to make sense of it.

If Kagome _had _been hurt, she was at the hospital and in good hands...

... So there wasn't any need for him to worry. The doctors here in New York were, if anything, were known for their work and precise quality of care.

He took a deep breath and let it out, barely paying attention to the beeps of the camera as it began to count down from five to when it'd start filming.

'_Alright Inu-Yasha,' _He thought to himself, subtly rubbing his damp palms against his jean legs, '_Let's pull it off this time.' _

The director raised his finger, "And - scene."

As the studio eclipsed in silence, one word filled the air, "Shit." Inu-Yasha broke out of character, his shoulders sagging and his hand racing for his cell phone. It took every muscle in him not to jog off the set and instead he opted to rush across the tiled floors to pat the director on the shoulder, "Do the scenes without me for today."

In the span of thirty seconds, he'd dashed out of the building, squinting his eyes to the sudden light and had his cell phone pressed to his ear. Kagome was in the _hospital _and that meant she was hurt albeit a sprained toe or something serious. As soon as Sesshomaru picked up his cell phone, Miroku flung open the building doors and was after him, worry creased in his face as he stopped in front of Inu-Yasha.

After what seemed like agonizingly like an eternity, Sesshomaru clicked on his phone. "_Hello?"  
_

"Sesshomaru," Inu-Yasha stared pointedly at Miroku, his foot tapping against the pavement with impatience, "What's wrong with Kagome?"

Sesshomaru groaned on the other line, _"Idiot. You're in New York and you're not there? I won't be there till tomorrow morning but get to Trasia Hospital immediately. She's been in a car crash." _

_x.x_

Light music, soft, delicate harp strings strumming against each other played together in a harmony with a violin. Each pluck that vibrated in its hold played across her body, tingling her skin, pricking at her temples. Long notes echoed even longer notes, stringing together like wool being sown. Gracefully, almost the music repeated in her mind, distracting her from the pricking sensation around her temples.

Kagome's stomach shot a jab of pain through her body, but the wound felt distant, almost non-existent. The music, however changed, and she cringed as horrible, carnival music... Loud, abrasive, xylophone drumming music charged through her ears, making the pain seem so much more real.

She felt so disconnected from her body, so far away that she simply prepared herself mentally for the jabbing pain in her stomach to get worse. As she predicted, it did and she only struggled to awaken from the dark, lonely place she was in.

Lonely.

She echoed the word again in her head, and with panic, she realized she felt hands on her. But no matter how hard she tried to pry open her eyes, they remained shut. Panicking, she began to heave, and despite how heavy each breath felt, she inhaled and exhaled. Eventually, the horrible music receded and her breathing got heavier. If it was possible, the darkness around her became darker, blacker than pitch black. Tired from struggling, and thinking, she realized she was either: a) dying b) fainting or c) falling asleep.

Either way, she gave up and let her body fall under the aesthetic.

_x.x_

Ayame waved the load of bread over the scanner until it beeped once, signaling her to then put it in the plastic bag. Chewing her gum with boredom, she routinely smiled at the customer and ripped off the receipt from the machine. "That's a total of thirty seven dollars and fifty two cents."

As she swiped the customers bank card in the hand held ATM machine, she stalled on her gum as she saw Sango at the end of her customer line and for the first time that day, genuinely smiled. She turned back to the customer, "You're all set. Have a good day."

Two customers later, Sango dropped two dairy milk Cadbury chocolate bars, and a bottle of coke in front of her. "When's your break?"

Slowly, she took the first Cadbury chocolate bar and scanned it, upset. "I just came in late," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "There's no way my stupid jerk of a boss would let me leave for even five minutes. It's the first shift I've gotten in days anyway."

"Aw, Ayame." Sango's shoulders slumped, her eyes glazing with sympathy. "Oh well. I might be free from university next weekend. I'll just call you tonight, okay?"

Scanning the bottle of coke, she sighed. "Sure. That'll be four dollars and twenty cents."

After Sango had walked past the automatic doors, Ayame tried to hold back feelings of regret. The rattling of the air conditioning was strumming above her head and the continuous beeping of the scanner had already begun to annoy her. Unlike Sango, she'd handed in her university applications too late, and the next thing she knew... She was working a full time shift in Walmart to fill a year's gap. She bit in a sigh. Just leave it up to her to make some bimbo mistake.

Forcing a toothy smile as a woman dropped a bag of tampons in front along with a few magazines, she was simply going to drop the second magazine in the plastic bag when she saw a small tabloid picture of Kouga on it. Gulping as her throat suddenly went dry, she dropped it in the bag and handed it to the customer. "That'll be six dollars and seventy cents. _Thank_ you."

Realizing no more customers were lined up to purchase anything, she sat down on her stool and took a deep breath, glancing at her silent cell phone beside her tote bag under the scanning desk.

To top it off with a lovely cherry on an iced cake... Kouga had basically forgotten about her the second she had left the Villa.

She _knew _she was stupid to even lay it upon him but it wouldn't have hurt to have her small summer crush carry on into fall and whatnot. Better than that, it was easier to give up and mope about it for a while than to forget and continue being happy. She hadn't seen him, heard from him, or even gotten an _email. _What made it even more upsetting was that while she was scanning canned beans and diapers, he was probably partying like the freaking celebrity he was.

"Are you closed?"

She looked up and immediately put on a fake cheery facade and smiled, "No of course not. Alright, a bag of chips is all you want?"

_x.x_

Kagome tried to lift her head but she simply lolled it to the side, her eyes still tightly sealed. Her heart was thumping erratically and all she wanted was for it to calm down, but it wouldn't and it continued to wildly beat against her ribcage. It was horrible, regaining consciousness to simply be surrounded in darkness and to lose it again to wake up to the same feeling of being trapped.

As something clammy and cold touched her chest, she relaxed in the notion that she was somewhat more in touch with her body than she had been before. But who was she to know, maybe she was drifting further in her sleep and even her thoughts were some sort of dream.

As something ice cold touched her head, her eyes shot open and for a mere second, a blinding light seared her eyes before she hopelessly let them clamp shut again. A little more sober, the minutes ticked by, and she was sure someone was touching her. Hands were on her legs, her stomach, and her head...

Her head. She felt her body inwardly cringe as something pierced her head and wanting to scream, fear finally spread in her heart as she realized she wasn't able to talk. If it had been able to, she was sure her heart began to beat even harder.

Her eyes fluttered open again as cold air rushed through her throat, only to be covered with a clear mask.

"Breathe in and it won't hurt anymore."

Desperate to get the pain to stop, she closed her eyes and again, fell into a deep sleep.

_x.x_

Sango flipped through her Calculus textbook, licking her thumb before she filed through the pages one by one. Her dormitory, consisting of a bunk bed, two desks, one wardrobe and one window was the absolute last place she wanted to be at the moment yet studying was better than hanging out _alone._

Tipping her chair back, she effortlessly answered the questions in her head, flipping to the next page to see if she had missed anything for tomorrow's test.

Bored, she exhaled slowly.

It quietly came, but by its second ring, the music was clear and loud. Scrambling out of her chair, Sango stumbled for her cell phone and flipped it open by its fourth ring. "Hello?"

Miroku's voice, fresh music to her ears came through the speaker. _"I stole the number from Inu-Yasha's cell phone. This is Sango right?" _

Finally, she thought, a distraction. Happily, she sat on the bottom bunk and ignored its creak. "Yes this is Sango. How are you Miroku?"

He laughed, and she knew his eyes were _probably _twinkling. _"So you recognized me. We haven't talked in a while, but we can talk about getting together later. First things first - have you heard about Kagome?" _

She had laid down flat on her back and was drawing circles on her pillow but hearing the concern in his voice, she idly stopped. "No," she drawled out slowly. "What about her?"

"_She's been in a car crash but no one we call will give out any more information. Either they don't know, or as the hospital says, it's 'confidential'" _

All thoughts momentarily cleared from her head and she gasped, bringing her free hand to her mouth. "You're lying."

"_I'm quite serious, actually." _

She got up from the bed and began to pace, "This isn't funny, Miroku."

"_Sango, dear. I'm in the car beside Inu-Yasha this very second. If you'd like to talk to him, I'd hand him the phone but his knuckles are so white at the moment, I'm not sure he'll be able to hold the cell phone properly." _

Well, that explained the honking and noise on the other line, she rationalized. However, panic laced above everything else and she shook her head, unable to grasp the reality of it. "But Kagome can't be in an accident. It's Kagome for goodness sake, Miroku." When he didn't say anything, she continued on. "Is it bad? Is she hurt? Will she be okay? Is she awake? Is she talking? Does she remember everything? It was an accident right? She's just got a twisted ankle, right? She's fine right? God, Miroku, say something."

He was distracted, it was obvious as he said something to Inu-Yasha but he quickly continued to talk, _"I don't know much but everyone, and I mean Kagome's family, Inu-Yasha's family are all headed to the hospital." _

Sango felt weak in the knees. She'd known Kagome for her _entire _life and if something just happened to her now, she didn't know _what _she'd do. "So it's serious?" She asked, weakly.

"_Let's hope not. Sorry for worrying you dear, but listen. We're pulling into the hospital now so I have to hang up." _

"Wait!" She listened for a dial tone but continued as she heard none, "Miroku, call me as often as you can to keep me updated. I want to be there but I don't know how to get to New York."

"_Will do. Ask Sesshomaru if he could buy you guys some tickets over. He's keeping everyone calm at the moment. I'm sure he'll help out." _

She tapped her foot against the age-old carpet, nervous and anxious. "Thanks. I'll call him after I call Ayame. See ya." As Miroku hung up on the other line, she sat there, shocked. A minute ago, she'd been reading calculus and now...

Grateful, if for anything was that Miroku and Inu-Yasha were with Kagome and with that calming thought, she dialed up Ayame's cell number.

_x.x_

The music was back. Not the harsh carnival music either but the soft, stringing harp melody she'd heard what felt like a long time ago. The cold choppy wind didn't feel so abrasive either but felt like a gentle breeze washing over her.

But as her eyes rolled back, she twitched her eyebrows as fresh memories fluttered into her head, replaying them scene by scene as if she were watching like a third person. She was back in the park, watching herself walk with Inu-Yasha that morning.

And then his words replayed in her mind,

"_**Kagome, I want to try us again."**_

His sentence echoed in her head for a while, repeating itself until it was a dull throb at the back of her head.

Goodness, she wanted to try _'us' _again too. Oblivious to her conscious brain, all she felt was the utmost regret at walking away from him, leaving him there. It was always her head that got in the way of things, blocking out her heart. She couldn't ever remember a time where she didn't over think things, or worry about consequences.

He'd been right, she was afraid of committing. Afraid of what would happen if she gave _any _relationship one more shot. Slowly, memories played in front of her eyes like a bad movie, random scenes with choppy editing. But she didn't try to stop them and instead she let them play, relishing in the remembrance of them.

_x.x_

It'd been two and a half hours, but the flight still had a long way before it'd land in New York, America. Restless, Sesshomaru rubbed his hand idly over his fiancé's finger, talking into his cell at the same time.

The sneaky bastard Naraku... He had been behind the entire car crash all along and the foolish excuse for a human being had been stupid enough to hire _anyone _desperate enough to do his bidding. It'd been a predictable crime, yet Sesshomaru was amazed no one had kept a closer eye on him.

Naraku had simply hired a hit man in a final attempt at revenge. From the confines of his prison, he'd managed to devise a plan and pay the jerk that'd driven a car via poorly guarded visits to his family and friends. The hit man, who'd been chased down after a tedious police car chase had confessed immediately.

And that only left way for an ugly court battle just waiting to unroll. But he'd manage that, he was sure. He began to end his conversation with the police investigator on the other line, "Alright, thanks." In the least, Naraku deserved lifetime in jail for attempted murder.

As he hung up, he relaxed on the lavish first class chairs in the plane and soaked in the peaceful atmosphere of the plane. There was a plasma TV in front of him, champagne and water in glass bottles near him and he and Rin were the only occupants of the plane.

He would've turned his cell phone off but if at any point the Higurashi's needed to call, he wanted to be right there to help. Looking to his side, he innocently stared at the beauty sleeping beside him; amazed she'd said yes to marry him.

She hadn't been asleep, and realizing he was done talking, she blinked her eyes open quickly to look at him. "Exhausted?"

The gently hum of the plane vibrated through the air and suddenly, he felt tired. He'd gotten out of bed as soon as he'd heard news of Kagome's crash and with less than an hours worth of sleep, he'd jumped on his private plane and had begun to make phone calls. He nodded, "Just a little. I'm fine though."

She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing into him. "I hope she's okay."

"She'll be fine."

"Hopefully." She smiled warmly, "I want you to know how _proud _I am of you for taking all the stress of the bills and legal court stuff off of the Higurashi's hands. Only a _true _gentleman like my little -."

"Please, Rin." His cheeks flushed a little. No matter how close they'd get, he'd never get used to her names for him, "I lied before. I'm exhausted."

"Sleep."

He sighed, "You know I can't miss any phone calls."

Rin squeezed his arm, "You could always ask Inu-Yasha to take some responsibility. He's in New York, you know. Wait..." she weakly smiled, "He's probably taking it worse than any of us."

"Probably."

She murmured a thank you to the flight attendant as he handed her a bottle of water before looking up at her fiancé. "I don't think you should have sprung it on him like that."

Sesshomaru thought about it for a second and grazed his chin with his finger, "He can handle it."

Rin twisted the cap of the bottle open and brought it to her lips, "I hope so."

_x.x_

It was almost surreal, walking into the waiting room to see the Higurashi family tense and upset when they usually would have welcomed anyone with broad smiles and laughter. The room meant to comfort it's guests with its two plants and cushioned seats only filled anyone who walked in it with dread. If you were sitting in it, you had someone hanging on for their life in the emergency room.

Inu-Yasha's throat went instantly dry but next to the choking fear he had swirling in his guts, it was nothing. He hadn't bothered wearing any shades or a baseball cap to disguise his appearance but he ignored the murmur that washed across the room as he walked across it. People began to wonder out loud if it was actually him and if it was, if they talked to him. One kid took out his disposable camera and took a quick picture but as he sat across Kagome's distressed family, the nine or so people in the room hushed, deciding to let him be.

He barely registered it when Miroku sat beside him and all he could do was stare at Mrs. Higurashi bawl into her husbands shoulder. Her back was heaving and her shoulders shaking, one hand clamped across her mouth and the other clutched against her chest. Souta, who was at her side got off his chair and ran across to Inu-Yasha, embracing him in a deathly hug. Not saying anything, he simply hid his head in Inu-Yasha's shoulder, his tiny frame trembling as he scrambled to hold in his tears.

"Don't worry bud, she'll be fine." Inu-Yasha's voice, hoarse and barely audible as a whisper sounded unrecognizable even to himself. For the first time in years, he wanted his mom beside him to reassure him things would be okay. But he kept his frontier and patted Souta's back.

He wanted to talk but the numbness inside of himself stopped him and when Miroku talked, he hadn't remembered being more grateful.

"What exactly happened?"

Kagome's dad, eyes hollow and skin pale, looked at the two of them as if he just noticed they had arrived. "She was crossing a pedestrian when a car hit her."

Inu-Yasha flinched as he thought of the pain that must have damaged her with. If only he'd gone with her to make sure she made it home safe... It wouldn't have happened. Guilt poured in him like venom, gnawing at his heart.

Souta pulled away from him and slipped into the seat beside his, his cheeks wet from salty tears. "It wasn't a full impact hit though."

"No, no it wasn't, thank the lord." Mr. Higurashi ran his hand down his wife's back, "She managed to jump out of the way so the cars bumper hit the side of her stomach." He took in a shuddery breath; "She fell on the road hard."

Inu-Yasha clenched his jaw, anger at himself and anxiety swelling up inside of him like a dangerous water balloon just waiting to pop. Brushing a hand through his hair, he closed his eyes and resisted the urge to stomp into whatever room she was in just to remind her she'd better live through this or he'd begin to self-destruct one way or another. He rephrased the sentence in his head, she _would _live through this and the first thing she was doing was moving back into the villa until she was completely healed.

Miroku continued on with his questioning, "How long has she been in the operating room?"

Kagome's father sighed again, "A couple of hours."

"She went out without telling us." Mrs. Higurashi finally lifted her head, and Inu-Yasha immediately noticed her red, puffy eyes, "We woke up and she was gone and the next thing we know we get a call from the Hospital telling us she's - she's," The woman broke down crying again, hiding her face in her hands. "I love her so much."

Inu-Yasha wanted to comfort her, tell her Kagome would be fine simply because he wanted to see her again so damn badly, but instead he remained silent, his palms sweaty and his stomach constricting so tightly, he almost felt like vomiting.

The awful second hand of the clock ticked by, echoing in the silence as every being in the waiting room sat in nervous bundles for any kind of news to come.

_**x.x**_

**Two Days Later**

There was no harp playing in her heard, nor some abrasive music either, simply silence. Well, if you crossed out the quiet air conditioning whirr in the air, _then_ it was simply silent.

Slowly her eyes creaked open and she barely registered the white ceiling before her vision went blurry and a cutting twinge shot through her head. Impulsively, she shut her eyes, trembling.

She didn't know how long it was, minutes, hours, or days before she opened them again, and this time she warily looked around with her eyes half shut before widening them completely. It took a moment to remember what had happened.

The screech of tires swiveling against the road, a white van swerving towards her and her legs jumping instinctively before everything around her had gone black. That was exactly how her head replayed the thoughts to her and with that in mind, she helplessly realized she was in a hospital room.

Half her face was hidden by an oxygen mask, and even though she had regained her ability to function her eyes, her arms and legs felt as heavy as a sack of bricks. She noted she was lying on a stark white mattress elevated by a wheeled bed, in the middle of the room. IV was dripping in her via a needle in her wrist, and a blanket was drawn up to her chest in case the breeze became cold.

She could feel a faint throbbing around her stomach but she guessed by the amount of pain killers in her at the moment, the real pain had been subdued.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

Kagome looked to her right, and saw a nurse push a trolley laden with supplies through the door.

Questions immediately sprang into her head.

How long had she been here for?

What had happened after the accident?

Did her family know?

Did Inu-Yasha know?

Were they even here?

Looking around the desolate room, she answered the last question for herself and felt immediately disheartened. No one had come so far. It was probably still morning... Her parents would be asleep and Inu-Yasha at the set for his movie.

Her eyes moistened, her emotions suddenly at an all time high. She hated hospitals, she hated the white rooms, the empty beds, the sickness, the pain, the sadness... She couldn't stand any of it. And no one was her with her to hold her hand while she was left awake to stare at her surroundings.

"You're in an ICU room for the time being." The nurse said, smiling as if it were something she said every other day. "We'll have to monitor you for a day before we can move you in a ward."

Kagome calmed as she heard that, ironically. At least that explained why she was alone. Maybe her family _had _heard about her accident but they simply couldn't see her because she was in an ICU room.

She backtracked. Didn't that mean she was in... Critical condition?

She was prepared to panic but the nurse sat down beside her, "We're going to take off the oxygen mask. Ready?"

Sure she was ready. Breathing without that mask didn't seem all that hard, and if it meant one more thing she was able to do on her own, then bring it on.

As the nurse took it off, she actually did a double take as she felt her lungs suddenly shudder before she managed to take a slow deep breath on her own.

"See. That was easy."

Kagome took cautious breaths; wary of the odd way her lungs tingled.

"How are you feeling, Kagome?"

Exhausted. Emotional. She wanted to say she felt like crying, but instead she opened her mouth and was surprised at the creak that escaped her lips, "Fine."

"Do you remember anything that happened?"

Speaking of her head, Kagome just realized that gauze was tightly wrapped around her forehead and she had a sudden urge to scratch an itch that had just appeared under the bandage. "I remember..." she took a few wary breaths, "I remember till the crash."

"What's your full name?"

"Kagome Higurashi."

The nurse wrote something down, still smiling. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Where were you born?"

"Japan."

"What's you're phone number?"

"000 387 1239."

"Are you dizzy at the moment?"

"... No, not really."

The nurse continued on, asking random questions to test her memory and her current mind. Despite the concussion the nurse later told her she had, her head was working right and so were her bodily functions, despite the fact her muscles ached when she moved them. The more she talked, the better she felt, and the better she felt, the more energy she felt she had. The build up continued to happen until up to one point where she just felt exhausted all over again. It was a good exhausted though, the kind one got after working or exercising.

She spent the day alone, being awakened whenever she fell asleep. The nurse came in every hour, and her doctor came in twice to see if her progress was well.

By the time night rolled around, she was already anxious to get moved to the visitor ward.

**x.x**

**The Next Afternoon**

"Oh, Kagome, just thank the lord. I'm simply never going to let you out of my sight again, you little fragile... Glass. I just love you so much," Mrs. Higurashi's eyes welled up with tears again and she pressed Kagome's hand to her lips, "I love you. I love you. I love you."

"_Mom._" Kagome said, smiling warmly. "I love you too and I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Worrying me? You had me more than worried, I was... I was... Worried _sick_." She kissed Kagome on the cheek for the umpteenth time that hour. "Your father and I couldn't sleep, eat or drink anything."

Kagome looked over at her dad and brother who were sitting on the other side of the bed, smiling. Her younger brother however, looked like he was about to burst into tears again like he had when he saw her.

"Souta, don't be upset."

"I'm not."

"Well, you don't look all that happy."

Souta puffed, putting on a scowl identical to that of Inu-Yasha's. "Well, of course I'm not happy that you've got needles dripping stuff into you and that you've got a broken leg and that you've got a concussion and that you've fractured your pelvic bone. I'm not going to be jumping all over the place for all that."

"But if you pretended it was all alright, it'd make me happier too..." Kagome drawled out and grinned as Souta dropped his shoulders to sigh and give her a hug.

She'd been moved into the ward and even though the nurse still came around every _two _hours to check up on her, she'd been allowed visitors and that alone made her happy.

She was craving to see her family. Now she was craving to see her friends. And despite the ache in her heart, she was craving to see Inu-Yasha. Her family had been in here with her for three hours, yet there was still no sign of him. She held in her disappointment. Maybe he hadn't come, after all.

She'd been here for three days, unconscious for two and awake for one but he still hadn't come. He hadn't been that mad, had he?

"Kagome, Sesshomaru flew in a surprise for you."

"Hm?"

Kagome's mother got up, signaling for her father and brother to do so also. After all three of them had kissed her on the forehead, they'd begun to head out. "Wait, you're leaving?"

Her father laughed, "A few friends are here to see you and we thought it'd be nice if you had some alone time. Don't sweat it, we'll be back here as soon as they're gone."

Kagome blinked as she saw her family close the door behind them and sat there in silky silence for a while. Confused, she watched in wonder as the door opened again and two heads popped in. "Oh my god."

Screams filled the room and Sango and Ayame rushed towards her, hugging her tightly as they reached her bed.

"We've been crying ourselves sick for nights."

"We've missed you."

"When we heard what happened, we couldn't believe it."

"I'm missing a Science Exam at the moment, by the way."

"And I probably got fired from my job but it doesn't matter."

"It just shows how much our lives hang in your balance, whatever that means."

Kagome groaned as Ayame accidentally jabbed her stomach but laughed as her friends pulled back to stand at her side, looking like kids waiting for candy. "Wow. I didn't expect you two to come here at _all._"

"We couldn't just _stay _there while you were suffering."

"I almost fainted by the way, when Miroku told me what happened."

"We were on the next flight to New York."

"I don't think our parents even grasped what we told them."

Kagome had never felt so blessed in her life as she watched her friends talk _on _and _on _about how much they'd gone through just to get here. She'd barely put in another _thank you _before they began to fret over her wounds, and then began to fill her in on gossip and entertainment news to keep her caught up.

Sango gingerly touched Kagome's forehead, "Does it hurt?"

"Only when I move." Kagome waved her able hand to get them to stop worrying, "How did you two _get _here?"

Sango began to talk however Ayame cut her off, "Sesshomaru booked us on the next flight to New York. He's been pulling all the strings here, making sure everything is being paid, press is on an all time low, and that, of course, everyone can make their way to see you."

They talked for what seemed forever and only when Sango absently strung Inu-Yasha in something she was saying did both of them fall into a hush.

Ayame looked at Sango uncertainly before speaking. "What time is it?"

Disconcerted at hearing Inu-Yasha's name after so long, Kagome kept her cool as she glanced at the clock on the wall, "It's three thirty."

Ayame clicked her tongue, "Crap, we really don't want to leave."

Sango shook her head, "We really don't."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Then don't?"

Ayame smiled, wringing her hands together. "But we promised Inu-Yasha we'd take like five minutes but it's been an hour."

Even at his name, jitterbugs spread across her body and she was already nervous. "Inu-Yasha's here?"

Sango laughed half-heartedly, "He's been here all three days, even when you were in the ICU. But we convinced him you probably didn't want to see him so he let us see you first."

Kagome mouthed open in shock, suddenly exhilarated with joy that Inu-Yasha had, after all, come. But as she remembered how she rejected him rushed back in her memories, she held out her needle free hand to stop them from leaving, "You can't leave me alone with him."

"Why not?" Sango picked up her tote bag, swinging it on her shoulder. "He seemed pretty depressed."

Kagome desperately searched for an excuse to make. She just _couldn't _stay in a room alone with Inu-Yasha. She'd walked away from him _twice _so far, and if anything he probably hated her guts. "I… just… well…"

"Relax, Kagome." Ayame leaned over to pat her shoulder. After the two had put everything back into their bags, they walked out of the room and shut the door behind them, leaving Kagome in an earth shattering silence.

It wasn't right to put a dangerously pained patient in a situation like this. Her heart was ramming against her chest already and she was filled with emotions she couldn't even define. When she'd been unconscious, all she had remembered were her regrets and how she probably could never revert them.

The door opened slowly and she didn't look as Inu-Yasha shut it behind him. She could hear him breathing, standing still as he took in her disheveled appearance. Oh god, she hadn't even thought about how she had looked. Her hair hadn't been washed in days, her body wrapped in flimsy, plain hospital attire. Wrapped in bandages and casts, her body seemed almost enveloped by it all.

The self-confidence and self-esteem she had built up to stand up against him suddenly shattered and all of a sudden she realized she felt so incompetent lying like a broken doll next to the trillionare walking in.

She expected him to ask how it had happened, or how she felt but as he rushed to her, but she barely had time to even comprehend what he was about to do before his lips forcefully crushed against hers.

He didn't force his weight on top of her, but simply held her head and kissed her. It wasn't passionate but it was desperate, and it wasn't hungry but it was loving. Despite the initial shock, Kagome fluttered her eyes shut and kissed him back, feeling as if she'd burst into tears at any moment. When he pulled away, her kissed her cheek, her ears, her neck, skimmed his palm over her arm and kissed her again, ceasing all her thoughts.

She didn't know how long he kissed her for, but when he pulled back, he ran his lips over her ear. "When I thought that there was a chance you could die -." He broke off and opted to nuzzle her neck, "Dammit Kagome, only you could do this to me."

Regardless of how she had prepared herself not to cry in front of _anyone, _her eyes moistened and she quickly raised her hand to wipe them.

"Shit, did I make you cry?"

"_No._" Kagome flushed red as he pulled back to study her face, "I thought you hated me."

"Fuck, Kagome." He pressed his head lightly to hers, "I could never hate you."

"Well, I'm an awful person," Her eyes welled with tears again and she looked tried to look away but her eyes locked with his. "I'm sorry for walking away -."

"We don't have to talk about that. Anyway, I understand. Don't worry about it."

Horror filled Kagome as she realized he was backing off, pushing the ball into her court. Either she was going to say something, or anything between them was over. "No, we have to talk about it. Just get me a Kleenex."

Inu-Yasha, his lips pursed and body tense, quickly pulled out a few tissue papers from the Kleenex box and handed them to Kagome, "If you insist. Fine."

They sat in silence for a while as Kagome wiped away the fresh tears as they kept on coming. Only after she had settled did she take a deep breath to settle her nerves. "When I was unconscious… all I thought about was how stupid I was to walk away." She rose a hand as he shot to her defense, "All along, it was _me _who was scared of being in a relationship because of what happened in the past. I mean," her lips wobbled as she thought about how close she had been to losing him. "You've changed, Inu-Yasha. You're not who you were a few years back, and I'm sorry for doubting you. Just forgive me and give me another chance."

Inu-Yasha stilled, his body tense under the hand she'd put on his arm. He searched her face, his eyes wide, his ears perked, almost as if he couldn't _believe _what she was saying. And then as if a hammer had come to break the ice, his face broke into a grin. "I love you, God dammit. Of course." He kissed her again lightly, chastely. "You're so cute when you're worried."

Kagome stuttered, reeling shock as he kissed her for the third time, "Wait what'd you say?"

His eyes glazed with innocence and despite his pale skin, he glowed from mischief. "That you're cute when you're worried?"

"_No._" She groaned as she saw he was playing with her, "Before that."

"I kissed you before that," He kissed her again to make sure she remembered.

But she was persistent. "_No._ Before that."

He pretended to think, "I don't know. I think you'll have to refresh my memory."

It clicked and realizing what he wanted her to do, Kagome laughed, feeling happier than she had in months. Gazing up at him, she smiled brightly. "If I told you I loved you, would you remember?"

"Maybe."

"Inu-Yasha,"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

He grinned, bringing his lips closer to hers again, "Good. 'Cuz I happen to love you too."

**_x.x_**

**Epilogue**

**One Month Later  
**_**x.x**  
_

The tabloids had gone in frenzy, claiming that Inu-Yasha and Kagome had gotten back together but this time, it didn't bother anyone. The water in the pool was glistening as the sun berated down on it, it being a surprisingly warm day for a month in fall. The branches were almost desolated from their leaves and most of them had scattered across the gardens. Fresh, green grass felt like a silky haven for anyone who walked on it and as the thirteen people sat around a lavishly set picnic blanket, the air filled with laughter as the joker of the bunch blurted another one of his jokes.

The incident with Naraku had been almost forgotten, what with Sesshomaru working his wonders with the judge. In no less than two weeks, the felon who had used the car had been caught, put in jail and Naraku set to lifetime in prison for attempted murder.

That being said, Souta had put aside his Game boy to fill in the group about his latest Pokemon game, which everyone listened to intently. As he continued on talking, Mrs. Higurashi filled everyone's cups with orange juice, smiling at her son as he highlighted a specific moment in the game. Mrs. Taisho sipped silently on the orange juice and smiled as Sesshomaru finally took the floor from Souta and with Rin; the two began to talk about their wedding arrangements.

They were to get married in exactly four weeks and two days, but by the way Rin was running around planning, it seemed as if the wedding was to take place tomorrow or something. And out of everyone, only Ayame excused herself as her cell phone rang and she picked it up, grinning as she realized who was on the other line.

"It's _Kouga._" She whispered to Sango, Kagome and Karira who gasped shock as Ayame giggled.

Karira sighed wistfully as Ayame twirled a lock of hair around her finger and talked to Kouga, who seemed quite hooked on the girl. She had a date with a photographer she had met last week, and hopefully, he'd be the one.

Miroku, sitting between Kagome's father and Sango who he kept _accidentally _brushing on the thigh with his finger, blurted out another joke about Sesshomaru's head as the soon to be married millionaire blushed when Rin publicly called him Fluffy, _again. _

Wrapped in Inu-Yasha's sweater, Kagome circled her arms around Inu-Yasha and leaned into him, swiftly glancing at the Taisho Villa as it sat a while away from the gardens. It'd been a month since she'd been allowed out of the hospital, and even though she had to walk with crutches, her concussion was healing and her pelvic bone was fine.

Inu-Yasha cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention, "The director called me this morning."

A silence fell over the group and everyone listened intently. The movie deal had turned out to be a mess since Inu-Yasha had asked for a two-month delay on it. "He said he thought about it, and they're moving the filming to DemonWood. And I'm not going to play the good guy anymore, I'm going to be the villain."

Kagome laughed, ecstatic beyond words. "That's perfect."

"Congrats."

"Oh, yeah. Congratulations."

Just like a cliché movie moment, everyone raised their cups and clinked them against each other, bursting out in laughs after they did so. As Sango slapped Miroku _again _as he _by mistake _grazed her behind, Kagome kissed Inu-Yasha on the arm.

He looked down at her, his eyes twinkling. "That means I get to stay here with you longer."

"Our one month anniversary is tomorrow. Better not forget about it," She giggled, "Or else."

"Or else what?" He pulled her closer, "There's not much evil you can do on me that you haven't done already."

"Oh, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." She chuckled as he leaned in for a kiss and felt a blood rush of warmth when he did.

Instantaneously, the people around them groaned.

"Take it inside."

"We have kids in the vicinity."

"And parents."

Laughing, the two broke apart, a tinge of pink on both their cheeks. Even though they were sitting _and _eating, Kagome had her hand tightly clutched in Inu-Yasha's and they secretly snuck each other cute nudges here and then.

Sitting around the cloth laden with food, laughing with twelve tightly linked people, Kagome never remembered a time when she had felt so content with life. Even though her leg was still healing, she felt warm inside, and no matter how hard she tried, couldn't imagine her life playing out differently.

And she also couldn't remember a time when she loved the guy sitting beside her more. Sinking her teeth into a load of bread, she grinned as Inu-Yasha played with her fingers.

Maybe she had been wrong before.

Being backstage to all the drama, to the real lives of the rich and famous – to have the people she had in her life… wasn't so bad after all.

As a matter of fact, she wouldn't change it for the world.

_**x.x**_

_**Okay… wow.**_

**I can't imagine what I'll do with my spare time now that I've finished Being Backstage. This story is definitely my baby, and I'm both happy and sad that it's over. **

**I had _so _much fun writing this, and all those readers who read it, and those reviewers who reviewed – thank you so, so, so much for making this story a success I never even dreamed it would be. **

**Also, thanks to the people who let me use their names in the story such as Kathy, Bum and Tiffany. Also, Mona – thanks for being the awesome friend you are. I remember how I used to come over and we'd sit in your room and just plan out how the story would unfold and turn out. Seriously, I miss you so give me a call or send me an email so we can get together. Also Super Ceech, thanks for being amazing as you are. I probably wouldn't have finished this story if you hadn't reminded me to.**

**I will definitely miss writing this, and I don't know if I'll continue writing fan fiction. I don't think I will… but if I'm to write anything else online, it'll be at fiction press under the name of k-lilah.**

**So please send in a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter, or the story in general, I will _definitely _respond to your reviews since I'm so grateful for each and every one that comes in.**

**So once again, thank you, and I'll miss writing this. But every story has its end.**

**Bye!**


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